Monster Inside
by sunshineblack
Summary: Chapters - Unfinished - A.U., inspired by "Slave" by Vegeta Goddess. This involves my OC, Callas and starts with her and Gokuh being taken captive by the Saiyans who are vying for universal power with the Ice Lizards  Frieza . Lots to come, feedback plz.
1. Easy Life

Chapter 1

The accusations were all that remained inside her, making her who she was. Callas was not a real person anymore. She was an ache inside, an angry guilty accusation. All she could hear was that of her best friend's angry voice. "Traitor!"

"I don't know you anymore!" He flailed against the restraints that bound his arms above his head. His legs tried to pull him forward but it was such a strange position that his body merely bent and flipped back into place. "You betray everyone on Chikyuu! Even your own sister! But how could you betray **me**!"

She said nothing to him as he shouted, angry and hurt, helpless, defenseless. "Broken," she told herself. "He is broken. He's never felt it before."

Callas was broken. That was why she could betray him in a way he thought was so easily done. It ripped her apart inside and killed who she once was so that she was mold-able now. When words like traitor and whore were imprinted upon her ears that was what she became.

A quiet smile slid over her features for his benefit. He could not know how much his words hurt, so she let her eyes sparkle with deviancy at him and turned to leave the prison cell. Her long, crimson hair followed behind her, reminding her of the river of blood that her spirit lived in now. She had always been a little cruel and easy to dismiss life in comparison to him but before she had been taken captive by the Monster Prince she had only killed out of necessity and defense. Nausea filled her insides as it always did when she would visit her once best friend, once [new] lover, and she hurried out of the cell, hearing the guards shove the marble door back into place with a grating ease.

She found her way back to her room alone, no longer required to have guards escort her around the palace as she had proven her loyalty to the crown and her Monster Prince. Most of the inhabitants of the palace knew to leave her be, so she was safe as long as she stayed within the captive walls. Her room was dark and small, but lavish for someone of her status.

"You're just his whore now!" she heard his voice echo in her mind and pushed it away.

The room had one wall opposite the door, made purely of clear stone, much like Chikyuu had glass windows, and she could see the blood red atmosphere of the planet outside her own cell. Everything about her was etched into this planet and she could barely wonder why she fit in so well with these monsters-why she even wanted to be a part of their world, to be one of them. She shuddered and collapsed into the floor, staring at the desolate landscape and yet seeing the indication of life everywhere. Here the trees were purple and red, vibrant with yellow shining from them; the foliage on the ground consisted of various red and violet hues; some plants had blues, some had yellows, and oranges; it was always the lack of green that disturbed her, having lived on a green and blue planet where green meant life force. It was merely an ingrained impulse to believe this, because after living with the Monster Prince she knew that life force was the color of blood and bruises.

Her first week with him she was privileged to watch him torture someone. The red liquid would pour from the poor captives, and the screams scratched at her ears and snaked into her brain. Callas found it strange that she was so easily able to dismiss the pain her Monster Prince would put these people through. She found her fingers touching sticky blood and smearing it along the stone floors. She also found that the Prince was highly curious about her reactions, obviously expecting her to be weak of stomach. This all reminded Callas of something long ago, something she could not quite grasp in her memory.

Digressing, on this planet, the people could fly (which is not to say people could not fly on Chikyuu, because she and Gokuh could and several of their friends, but the work with which it took to learn was intensive and required a discipline that most people had given up long ago) and every so often she would see trails of energy sizzling across the red and pink sky. For lower class citizens, flying into the palace was considered rude and threatening, thus it was not done unless in emergencies and often the mentality of "shoot first, ask questions later" was adopted so these emergencies were generally unheard until the runner got the note in to the proper official. So Callas did not see any fliers up close, though she did not really want to so it mattered little.

A quiet alarm sounded from her door, alerting her that someone was keying in a code for it to open. There were few people with access to her quarters so she could scarcely be surprised at who might walk in. Boots tip-tapped on the granite entryway and then silenced into plush carpet so dark red it was a purple bruise.

"Callas," the voice probed her collapsed form through the air, finding its way into her ears and down her neck and into her aching chest. Rarely did he speak her name, so a part of her relished it while the other part thrashed in human violence at the idea of her enjoyment.

She turned, bowing her frame to the ground, as was once custom for the subservient to do to those above them on her home world. It was a gesture that she brought with her and kept for him as he reaped much pleasure from it; so much, in fact, that he had mandated for all to greet royalty in such a way, mostly in political situations and during high protocol situations, though low-class citizens and slaves had to do it at any point when royalty entered their presence.

"Master," she breathed into the carpet, feeling her body tense into willing betrayal at the thought of his rough hands on her skin.

"You visited Kakarrot."

Callas swallowed. He already knew. She could hear disapproval in his voice.

"Just because I have granted you the power to walk around freely does not mean you may flaunt your station as the prince's slave above the guards to do as you please." A seductive purr ruffled through his voice as he called her his slave and he stepped closer to her. She made no move to rise; she had an amazing sense to read into situations with him and she could smell his arousal at her position on the floor. He would take her soon, down on the ground, on her knees, head shoved into the plush decadence of her floor. The small part of her that hurt from her visit with Gokuh began to waver and wander, joyfully being overtaken by a surge of whorish want and desire. "You know I don't like that you visit him."

Callas was unsure if she felt a slight twinge of jealousy... But no, of course, no. He was behind her now and she felt fingers snake into her long hair as a glove hit the floor next to her and it began. Today was quick; a rough and tumble modeled after two animals viciously devouring whatever they could from one another.

When her Monster was done with her, he flipped her over and shoved hot lips against hers, biting and drawing blood in a way that only he could and make her still want to kiss him more. His dark eyes glared hotly into hers and he smirked handsomely at her.

"Still my favorite," he breathed, causing a pang of jealously to rifle through her. Though she knew she was not his only sex slave (yes, she had to admit that was all she was), it was hard for her to hear him say over and over like he did. He laughed when he saw it hit her eyes. Cupping her chin roughly he shoved his thumb into her mouth and said, "Grey eyes that turn colors-you would think you could hide your emotions better like your chameleon eyes insisted." He only knew what a chameleon was because she had told him about it one night after sex when he actually slept in her bed with her. "One day, you will know I say these things to make you harder. Chikyuuan people are so weak." He remarked and stood up, sliding his form-fitting battle leggings back up.

"Are you off to train?" she asked, lying still on the floor, her simple dress fluttered about her slim form.

"Finally," he grunted. "The past few weeks have been so full of political bullshit the time to really get a good spar in has been seriously lacking." He snatched his glove from the floor and slid it back on. His attire was black and white with the blood red symbol of his family marked on his back. The clothes were tight-fitting but flexible-the under attire for battle garments, before armour was donned. She found she would not object to him taking her again, enjoying the view of his muscles moving powerfully underneath the cloth.

He glanced at her once more and saw the lust in her eyes. A feral grin graced his chiseled features, rough features of a warrior, and he teased, "Perhaps I will be back in your bed tonight, slave." With that he left her listening to his retreating footsteps and the sound of her high-tech door hissing out and into place, locking little latches electronically. She stared at the ceiling of her quarters and enjoyed the fact that she was living in a more luxurious part of the palace as compared to most everyone else, including the other slaves the Monster Prince partook of. More luxury, and yet more security.

She refused to think of it anymore, not wanting to spoil her newly obtained positive mood and started to touch herself. She rubbed and grasped, shoving softer, more delicate fingers into her and moaning with delight. She stopped only when she could bear no more and lay exhausted in front of the window to wait for evening.

The life of a pleasure slave was mind-numbingly easy... when she behaved.


	2. The Conversation

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 2  
**The Conversation**

9.29.2010

updated 12.3.2010

Bardock was unmistakably the father of her best friend, though he had not gone so far as to admit it. Callas had asked him on several occasions, sometimes subtly and other times outright; he never admitted nor denied, which irritated her, but she had grown accustomed to his ways. He had spent the past many months as her personal guard-something she was sure he felt as a punishment. She was, after all, a young female and she had always been accustomed to getting her way before. She found early on that if it was truly of little consequence that she get her desires, if she was loud enough about it, she got what she wanted.

"What do you want, Callas?" Bardock murmured, glancing up from his paperwork.

Callas was sitting on her plush black ottoman in the main area of her quarters. "I want to go outside the palace. I'm tired of staying inside all the time."

He immediately let his features settle into stone and began writing on his paperwork again. "You know the answer to that."

"Well, I'm bored."

"Then study the language. You're still a little rusty."

Callas scowled. She was tired of studying their Saiyan language. She had the gist of it and could appropriately speak in conversational dialogues with others; the perk of being the daughter of a genius was the advanced intelligence in her genes, though she had always been better at language and writing than the rest of her family.

"I'll tell Vegeta that you are denying me happiness," she griped quietly.

Bardock scoffed and replied, "As if he really cares if you are happy or not."

Hurt sparked through her chest at this intentional jab. "Then why does he keep me locked up in decadent quarters compared to the rest of the pleasure slaves that stay in a harem in a lower security area of the palace? And why does he keep you around to guard me so much?"

Calculating eyes met hers and he said after a moment's thought, "Perhaps he keeps you away from the others because he knows that you will get into trouble. You are related to that scientist that is always giving us trouble."

Callas narrowed her eyes, unhappy at the comparison with her sister but pleased to note that he spoke of her in the present tense which meant they had not disposed of her for impudence. "So," she replied slowly, "What you are saying is you don't really know."

He smiled at her, a genuine smile. Sometimes she amused him though she never quite understood what it was about her that he liked. (If he were to tell her, she would know that it was her quick wits and high intelligence, despite the fact that she might come off as irritatingly dumb and stubborn first off. Her adaptability to situations, that was the short of it.)

"I will talk to him about a... venture into a secluded area for you to view the wildlife and brush up on your language skills." He looked back down at the paperwork and, shaking his head, started working again.

Callas grinned and hopped up, dancing around joyfully. "Oh, thank you, Bardock! I knew you were nice inside!"

That evening, Callas dressed in her thinnest, most revealing outfit for the Monster Prince. He had been visiting her most nights since her arrival and to assume he would be here tonight was the safest thing for her to do. She also wanted to fish for information, learn if Bardock had been able to get her access to the outside. What she chose was simple, basically a silk bikini-type outfit, with thin braided strands connecting the top around her neck and back. Even thinner muslin delicately flowed down from the silk bottoms, creating one of the shortest skirts she had ever worn in her life. She hated shoes of any sort, so she rejected wearing those as often as possible.

She pulled at the slave collar around her neck, adjusting it so the pulsing red lines were symmetrical in the front. She stared at it for a moment in the mirror before her attention was torn away by the door hissing open. She strode out of her room expecting to see the Monster, and she did, but he was not alone.

The King was with him.

Callas gasped sharply before immediately dropping to the ground in a bow. "Forgive me for so rudely walking in on you both, my lords," she said in a choppy manner, attempting to keep her words and voice as formal as possible. Perhaps she did need more lessons. She was fairly sure that she said sliding instead of walking and she was dangerously close to saying friends instead of lords, which would have warranted a beating for presumptuousness.

The Monster Prince spoke too low for her to hear, and the King laughed in a rich, deep way that Callas did not believe could come from a man known for his terrible temper. But if she could charm the Monster Prince who was known for an even worse temper and rash personality, perhaps she would be okay in his presence.

"Rise, slave," King Vegeta bade her. "Come." He gestured as the royal men made their way to the formal sitting arrangements in the corner of the room. Callas rose lithely and padded across the plush carpet to stood in front of them. She waited nervously while they discussed her.

"She is very exotic. I can see why you kept her apart from the others," the older man said.

"She is one of the few Chikyuuan females we found that have any type of control over their ki energy," Monster Prince replied.

"But you kept her for more than that," the King suggested.

Prince Vegeta scowled up at her, causing her to shrink back slightly. "Did you get your close look, father?"

He smiled in response and nodded.

"Good," the Monster Prince snapped. "Now go to your room, slave. Leave us while we speak."

Callas swiftly left the main room and glanced back only once to find the King watching her with thoughtful eyes, though eyes also dusted with desire. She slid her door shut, unable to keep it open a crack and searched for a way to hear what they were talking about. She found it strange that in her many months of being here, only now would the King wish to see her up close. Her mind raced at the possibilities for what was really going on. She found a vent high up in the far corner of her room, near the closet, on the wall between the two rooms and climbed up her vanity dresser to get closer.

"Her hair is the color of blood," her prince was saying. The voices were faint and tinged with the echo of metal and stone from the vent's passageway. "It is a good omen for our people in the war against the Ice Lizards. I had thought to use her as a symbol of our countless victories in battle."

"She is too weak to go into battle even as a symbol."

"Yes, but she can be trained. The few humans that resisted us on Chikyuu, the friends of Kakarrot, they were stronger than we thought."

"But still too weak to win against even one of our lowest class warriors."

"This is true, but I believe as long as she can defend herself heartily and I have a guard or two to stay with her, it can work."

There was silence while the King formulated his thoughts. "I believe, son, that you are trying to make her into something she is not. Why would our warrior people follow someone not of their own blood and heritage? An outsider that is a captive, no less?"

Prince Vegeta did not answer.

"I think you are becoming too attached to her, as it is. There is no reason for her to be in plush quarters such as these-"

"You have two such pleasure slaves with their own quarters that you dote on," the younger man snapped. "Do not presume to lecture me on this and be a hypocrite for it."

The King conceded, "Alright, I know. Favorite slaves are bound to happen. Just do not get too attached. At the first chance of freedom, who is to say she will not run away? And why not? She was taken, not of her own free will, but because you could take her."

"If she runs in a battle, she will die. It will be her own fault."

"To use her as a _mascot_," he said with a slight hint of distaste at the word, "the warriors will need to see her as one, to respect her in a way that slaves are not respected. If you really want to take her with you into battle, you will have to figure out a way for our men to view her as a symbol of blood and war, not sex and bondage."

"Yes, father."

"I will leave you to figure that out."

"Of course, father."

"That said, you will be going out for another territory battle. A planet in the same system as Chikyuu, called Mars. Nappa will brief you in the morning and accompany you with a battalion of third-class warriors, which should be sufficient in taking the planet under our control."

"Another vacation destination planet?"

"No," the king shifted and stood, Callas could hear his garments rustling together and swishing forward. "We are going to mine materials from that planet."

"So a good chunk of the battalion will be left as Slavers."

"Yes, Nappa has already chosen the Slavers."

"Good." Callas could hear the two Saiyans walking on the granite entryway now, their voices further away. "Good evening, King Father."

"Good night, son."

The quarter room door hissed open and closed and Callas scrambled down the dressed and hurried over to the bed to await her Monster Prince. When her private room door opened, she tried to look bored and sexy, lounging longways across the plush mattress as the prince began to strip off his royal garments.

"Would you like some help, my prince?" she purred at him.

"I know you were listening," he announced as he stripped himself. "Somehow, you were listening."

Callas blinked. "What? How could I hear you through a wall?"

He narrowed his dark eyes at her. "I spoke with Kakarrot not too long ago and he said you were a great fighter. I will utilize this in my army and you will pull your weight instead of lounging around and causing trouble while I am away."

Callas knew he was speaking of the guards she taunted and the slave girls she got into cat fights with constantly. She opened her mouth to protest but he continued.

"And sneaking down to see your friend and visit your sister in the lab will stop if you want the chance to go outside the palace."

So Bardock had spoken to him...

"You will develop discipline and loyalty to me if this is to work. And be grateful I gave you this chance," he growled at her as he approached, now totally nude, the way he preferred to sleep. His tail swished from side to side.

Her grey eyes raked over his body and she licked her lips delicately before smiling up at him. "I am very grateful, my master."

He snatched a handful of hair up in his hand and dragged her head backwards so she looked up at him. "You better be... I indulge you far too much."


	3. A Short Explanation of How They Were Cap

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 2  
**A Short Explanation of How They Were Captured**

9.29.2010

updated 1.1.11

Perhaps it was the animalistic, painful delights she partook of before sleeping, but Callas had violent dreams that night about the not-so-distant past...

___"Get away from him!" Callas screamed, shoving a pale colored energy blast at the aliens swarming Gokuh. It was disturbing how fast they were overwhelming him, considering he had always been the strongest person in her life. These aliens looked just like Gokuh though, which was even more disturbing. Very human-like but generally with unruly, spiky hair, almost all of them were black or so dark the color looked black, and they all had tails._

___The battlefield was a massacre. All of their friends were lying battered and bloody. Some, she feared, were dead. The bald monk at least was twitching and breathing, though haggard, and the scarred once-bandit seemed to be attempting to pull himself up for another round. The others, though..._

___She sent another energy blast at the five of them and one of them broke off and sped towards her. She made an attempt to meet him but she was no where near the same level of power as they were and the warrior slammed into her, grabbing her throat and shoving her into the ground. He spoke in a very harsh, guttural language that made no sense to her, but the threat was there. Shut up and sit down, you're in the way._

___"Chi!" Gokuh called before another punch to the stomach sent the air whooshing out of him._

___Callas felt another wave of ki's approaching and turned her head to watch as a small group of more aliens flew out of the sky and landed near her and the warrior holding her down. The leader of the four aliens that arrived was apparently the smallest one as he stepped forward and let out a harsh command. The four warriors pummeling Gokuh immediately quit and pulled him to his knees, holding his arms back but keeping him up so the leader could see him as needed._

___The commander had spiky dark hair that defied gravity but he was very handsome, with defined cheekbones and an air of arrogance surrounding him. He sent a dark glowering look her way and barked out another command. The warrior holding her down stood up and pulled her through the air by her throat. Callas choked and struggled, scratching at his skin, though the blood welling up seemed to make little difference to him so she stopped and just tried to breathe. When they reached the captive Gokuh and other warriors, he let her feet touch the ground and forced her to her knees, this time holding her by her thick red hair, head pulled back so the commander to look at her face._

___The one in charge strode forward to look at these two prisoners. The three surrounding him followed at an acceptable distance. She supposed they were his guards, and one of the men looked eerily similar to Gokuh, even more so than the rest of these aliens. Though short, the leader was obviously the strongest of the group as his soft words caused all the men to straighten up. The words spoken from all that talked made no sense to Callas or Gokuh as he scrunched his nose up and shuddered. Maybe he was just in pain. She reached out to him and her hand was immediately smacked away by her captor with a harsh order that she assumed meant for her to stop. She growled and was immediately pulled back by her hair as a punishment. The commander laughed at the little antic and turned his attention to Gokuh. He spoke to him and Gokuh was silent, unresponsive due to ignorance._

___The commander pressed a button on the side of some advanced technological contraption on his face. It hooked on his ear, as far as Callas could see, and purple color tinted glass wrapped around in front of his left eye. He pursed his lips before saying, "Can you understand me now, low-class runt?"_

___Callas's mouth dropped open. "You speak our language?"_

___Her captor pulled her hair back and wrenched his fist up to hit her, she could see, but the commander said something to him and he stopped. He snarled at Callas but let her head back up._

___The man in charge ignored Callas again and looked at Gokuh, "Well?"_

___Gokuh coughed before saying, "Yeah... I can understand you a little better now." He hissed in pain before turning an insolent eye up at the man._

___"Good," a smile graced his lips. "Do you know who I am?"_

___Gokuh growled, "You are one of many aliens attacking my home planet that I plan to defeat!"_

___The three warriors behind their commander looked from one to another. They were also wearing the same contraptions as the commander and Callas assumed this was translating his words for them. The one that looked so much like Gokuh spoke after nodding at the commander, "Do you... know who I am?"_

___Gokuh looked at him closely, a strange flicker of uncertainty flashing through his eyes as he answered in a more subdued tone, "No... why? Why does this matter?"_

___"You call this planet your home," the commanding warrior said with disdain evident in his voice. "But you are one of us. You are a Saiyan. A warrior, like us! What has happened to you to make you believe otherwise?"_

___Another of the warriors with the strange technology on their face stepped forward. This one was big, very burly, and bald. He looked like a giant, especially in the armour he wore with extremely large shoulder pieces. "You were sent here as a baby, to grow and destroy the inhabitants on the planet so that we may rebuild this place as the buyers wished."_

___Gokuh looked from each of the warrior's face and stopped on the leader's apparently confusion and disbelief in his expression. "What do you mean? I grew up here, with my grandfather!"_

___The leader sneered. "You were lied to. You have a tail, do you not?"_

___Gokuh glanced back at his tail and it seemed to swish of its own accord._

___"You transform at the power of this planet's moon, do you not?"_

___A strange look crossed Gokuh's face. "Transform?"_

___A voice from behind us let out a strangled gasp, "Oh... the giant ape..." It was Yamucha. He had stood and was listening to the exchange. "So... Gokuh is an alien... it explains... a lot." He collapsed to the ground, groaning after a ki blast from a Saiyan soldier hit him in the stomach. A gurgle came from his direction before a shuddering sigh and then silence. Callas knew he was dead and she glanced sadly at Gokuh as he came to the same realization._

___Gokuh struggled to look back at Yamucha's body but the warriors holding him kept him still. Finally, Gokuh gave up and shuddering in anger and helplessness before asking quietly,. "I transform?"_

___"Yes... with the moon..." Callas answered him._

___The commanding alien spoke, pulling attention back to him, "Yes, how do you not know? Are you retarded?"_

___Gokuh was silent, in thought. A horrified expression crossed his face as he thought about his life, about these transformations. "I... killed my grandfather... waking up, alone... naked... Because I turned into a killing machine?" He was angry about this discovery and his power level spiked. The machines on the warriors faces began to beep and displayed strange markings. The commander's face screwed up as he glared and suddenly lurched forward to punch Gokuh in the stomach._

___"Calm down, stupid. Unless you want to get beaten again. You cannot even touch my power if you can't even match these other low-class warriors, so why bother?"_

___Gokuh gasped and glared at the ground, angry tears shimmering in his eyes. Callas could feel the pain he was feeling inside. She could feel the ache and the surge of betrayal and the attempt to deny it all but finding nothing to counter it with. It was all true and he was an alien; one of these horrible creatures destroying his false home._

___"I am Prince Vegeta," the commander spoke, finally giving a name to his terrifying, demanding presence. "Your prince and future king, so you might as well get used to bowing to me now. You are a low third-class warrior of our ranks and you could not even protect yourself and your mate from the lowest warriors we have. But I will be generous and bring you with us rather than have you purged with the rest of this miserable planet."_

___Gokuh choked on a cough. "No, you can't destroy Earth!"_

___Prince Vegeta held out his hand and the big burly warrior that spoke earlier handed him a gadget-like ring and two cuffs with similar markings and a sleek look that reminded Callas of her father's laboratory creations. The prince warrior put the ring around Gokuh's neck despite the struggle the man was putting up and the cuffs on his arms. Immediately Callas could feel Gokuh's ki energy level drop, as if sucked out of him or suppressed. Callas swallowed unpleasantly as momentarily Vegeta came towards her with the same things and put them on her._

___Resigned, though unhappy about it, Callas did not struggle but merely glowered at him as it happened. When the ring slide around her neck and latched into place, she felt nothing, but when the cuffs clicked on she felt a strange void spread over her body. It really was suppressing her energy and it was an unpleasant feeling-she felt weak and powerless, breakable._

___The prince watched her as it happened and smirked. He ran a black gloved hand through her hair and twisted a lock of it in front of her face. "Hair the color of blood. Exotic and rare." His eyes glistened with a strange emotion Callas could not decipher with the loss of all her ki strength she was so used to relying on, and he breathed in her scent. "You will be coming with us, too. Though I don't know how long a weak human like you will last."_

___Callas bristled. "I am not weak," she said in a low, even tone._

Waking to the sounds of the morning trumpets, Callas sat up in bed, letting the sheet uncover her naked body. She generally tried not to think about the beginnings of her captivity and her life before that. There was no point to it; she could change nothing about her life and she could not go back to the past. It was strange to dream about it now, and she was sad to think that her view on Gokuh had changed. He seemed weak now and defeated, chained against a prison wall, calling her a coward when she could feel his uncertainty and horror at himself for what he had become and how he treated the woman he loved.

Glancing over, she saw the Monster Prince still snoozing, the morning alarms doing nothing to wake him. She twisted around and let her bare feet touch the carpeted floor. A knocking at her entry door pulled her attention from her dream and she snatched a silk robe from the floor and wrapped it around her frame as she sauntered sleepily to open it. Bardock was at the door. He looked at her wearing a simple robe and Callas felt his male desires rush through his blood before he could quell them.

She let her mouth quirk up in a smile and said, "Morning, Doc."

He furrowed his brow and said, "You know I hate when you call me that. Is the Prince here? He was supposed to meet Nappa this morning."

"The first Sound has only just gone off, is Nappa impatient?" Callas moved to let Bardock in and the door slid shut automatically behind him and locked.

"Isn't he always?"

"He is sleeping," Callas replied. "I will... wake him." She frowned, hating waking him up because it always ended up in her getting tossed on the floor or into the wall.

"I will," the older man said. "If you like."

Callas smiled at him, at his kindness before shaking her head, "He is, uh, unclothed."

Bardock shrugged. Nudity was not an issue on this planet like it had been on Chikyuu, though she suspected they knew when it was polite to be clothed, especially in political and diplomatic situations. "Still," Callas said, "let me. It is my duty."

When she walked into the room, Vegeta was already sitting up, stretching, his tail arching gracefully. Callas smiled at him and said, "Bardock is-"

"I know. Nappa is being impatient, as usual. Get me some clean battle garments."

Callas nodded and hurried to her closet. It had some of the prince's garments in there just for such occasions, and she grabbed some for him and helped him dress, letting her hands linger longer than they needed to be, but he did not hit her away so she knew he was enjoying the attention.

She kissed at his muscular neck and he pushed her away, striding out into the main room to greet Bardock. Following, not necessarily deterred by his rejection, she listened to them talk idly about the politics that needed to be handled for the day. Finally the Monster said to Bardock:

"While I am gone, I expect you to train Callas as best you can. If you need to bring others in you can, but keep it quiet and private. I don't want people to wonder why I am putting so much effort into a pleasure slave."

He looked at Callas in a way that told her to behave, much like a parent to a child and she balked at this but said nothing out loud. She was much too excited for the opportunity to do something different around here.

"And... we need to find a way to make the warriors like her," Vegeta continued, struggling with his words at this part. "To not see her... like a whore."

Bardock frowned. "But she is one, my lord."

Vegete frowned in reponse. "Walk with me and I will explain."

"Yes, prince."

And Callas was left to herself for a while.

/

As Prince Vegeta and Bardock walked the royal halls, they were mostly alone but for a few servants and guards milling about. Vegeta kept his voice low so that even Bardock with his sensitive ears had trouble hearing.

"I think a red-haired warrioress will be a great symbol to our men in battle. Our women are not allowed to go into battle because we have so few left, though they would make a great addition to our ranks."

"With respect, sir, I believe the men will only view her as a fake warrior that they can take advantage of, though you know I completely agree with your idea of a symbol." Bardock replied, making sure to emphasize that it was the Prince's idea, even though he had brought the idea before the King and the Prince himself.

"Yes, unless we change their view of her. We need to see what she is capable of. If she can give us an idyllic advantage over our enemies, especially a visible one, she will be more respected and it will bolster ranks. While we have been winning many battles, I fear we may lose the war to these Ice People..."

"I have seen the state of our men, my lord. I see their weariness. A visible advantage over the enemy would be a good way to get their spirits up. Of course, a power addition to our ranks would also help." Bardock pulled at his chin, thoughtful of the prince's idea.

Vegeta nodded and hesitated before saying, "Your son has shown great promise in his power. It grows daily with his beatings and spars with prisoners, as it should... but our scientists have shown an exponential increase unseen by any before. He would be a good addition if he would stop being so damn stubborn. Apparently the scientists had to develop another ki restraint for him as his power spikes were corroding the others."

Bardock's face grew cold. "He does not know me nor does he recognize me as his elder to respect. It is infuriating. But I have heard the rumors about him. I just did not realize they were more than that."

"We need him on our side," Vegeta said. "Find a way to make him loyal to us."

"He may not-"  
"Figure it out. Use Callas if you need to. Or that scientist sister of hers, Booma or something," Vegeta shook his head.

"Bulma, I believe, sire."

"Whatever," Vegeta put a gloved hand on the shoulder of the older Saiyan and looked him in the eyes. "You are one of my most trusted, loyal guards Bardock. I trust you will handle all of this for me. I expect to be gone at least 2 months time since it takes 3 weeks to get to the Andromeda system. And don't let Callas run all over you. You have a soft spot for the girl."

Bardock flushed and nodded. "Of course not, my prince. I will not fail you."

"Good," Vegeta said, and with that they were at their destination and the prince went into the imperial battle chambers to meet with Nappa while Bardock went back to begin training with Callas.


	4. Pretending to Switch Sides

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 4  
**Pretending to Switch Sides**

11.24.2010

updated 6.13.2011

In the weeks that followed, Callas sparred daily with Bardock. It was always kept a secret. One of the things she enjoyed most about it, aside from the fact that it interrupted the boredom of her days while the Monster Price was off claiming Mars for the Saiyan Empire, was that she was allowed outside of the palace. Bardock had kept his word, something she was eternally grateful for, and she could breathe in the strange scents of the planet. Technically they were still within palace walls, but in a secluded area of the Gardens.

_"These Gardens were built for the Prince's mother," Bardock told her on their first day of sparring. "Or so it is known. The king did everything he could to woo the woman, but supposedly... well, I guess I should not be telling a slave this."_

_"She did not love the king?" Callas asked as she nosed some flower-like plants. She sneezed immediately and regretted her decision to sniff them._

_Bardock was silent a moment before continuing, "It was strange and convoluted, but no the Queen did not like our King for a long time. Their marriage was one of necessity. The Gardens were his peace offering, and it worked mostly. She died in childbirth though, as many females do. After that, the King sealed this place off from anyone but royalty."_

_Callas eyed Bardock, pulling her attention from the strange orange-and-yellow swirled plant she was touching. "Then why am I here?"_

_"We have been given permission to be here, but it must be kept a secret. Tell anyone, and you will... __**we**__ will both be punished."_

_The seriousness of his face and tone made Callas nod as though she were a child. "Of course," she murmured._

Today they were working on her speed. Bardock said she seemed to excel in speed and dexterity, which of course she already knew. He also said that because she lacked the physical strength of other Saiyans, she most likely lacked the physical strength of other species too. Avoiding the hits seemed the most logical way to go, since building stamina and brute strength would require far longer and much more of an intense training program than they had time for.

"Besides, even if I do train your strength, you will never reach a level that will matter human to Saiyan," Bardock concluded.

Not getting hit sounded like the best plan to Callas, so she heartily agreed with his deductions and put all her efforts into training. She was happy to have this in her life again. On Chikyuu, Gokuh and she would train every day; of course, Gokuh was miles ahead of her in skills and strength, but Callas would almost be faster some days... almost. Thinking of Gokuh made her chest ache. She had not visited him since before the Prince had left 5 weeks before. She told herself the reason she had not visited him was because it would anger her Monster and she might lose the chance she had been given, and maybe that was some of it, but the real reason was the fact that she was afraid to face him again.

The look of hurt and betrayal on his face the last time she saw him still haunted her. The accusations... the anger she felt from him.

Callas was ripped from her thoughts as a punch landed in her stomach and dropped her to the ground, the air gushing out of her lungs as she hit. She gasped, mouth opening and shutting like a fish, trying to gather herself.

"You left yourself open," Bardock grunted as he landed beside her. "Your thoughts seem far away today, not a good state of mind to be in during a fight. You have to focus, Callas!"

The red-haired girl doubled over as she was finally able to pull air into her lungs. After dining on the delicious oxygen, her adrenaline started to fade and her heartbeat slowed down from the shock. She looked up at Bardock with a half-smile. "Sorry."

"Sorry won't cut it on the battlefield, little slave," Bardock said a little more gently. "Your eyes... they are blue."

Callas stood up gingerly and took a deep breath. "You know my eyes change colors."

"Yes, what does blue mean?"

"Why does it have to mean anything?" she snapped.

"Because it does..."

Callas wished she had a tail to swish from side to side, so he would know she was agitated enough by the question and leave her alone. Not that it mattered. A Saiyan slave had to answer to their superior just the same.

"We can take a break if you tell me," he offered and knew he had her when the acceptance lit in her eyes and she sat down on the plum-colored grass. He sat next to her and said, "In fact, just tell me about colors from your planet. I'm curious especially about orange."

Callas searched his face. "Because of Gokuh's gi?" The word was not familiar to him so Bardock furrowed his brow. She laughed and said, "Maybe you need more lessons in Chikyuu's language! Complaining that I need more in Saiyan and you don't know what a gi is!"

The older man scowled at her but before he could speak she said, "It is his uniform. His orange uniform. And really, colors mean different things to different cultures on Chikyuu. They aren't all the same."

"That is strange," he commented.

"Well, for the most part there are some universal meanings. Red is power, green is life, blue is sadness or calm," she hurried past this, "Yellow generally means happiness or energy, orange is lucky, purple means royalty." She paused and thought for a moment, "Oh, and black is associated with death, while white normally is associated with innocence. But not always."

Bardock nodded. "It is a strange thing for races to want to name everything and find a meaning for things so small as color, but we do it too." He was thoughtful, eyes trained on her but not really seeing her for a few minutes. When he did focus on her again he said, "Are you sad about the Prince being gone?"

Callas frowned and shook her head. He had not been distracted from her eyes. If only she could manipulate them more easily. She had been working on controlling her emotions and thoughts, which meant controlling her eye color, but so far she had not done as well as she had liked. She stared at the exotic plants around them and finally answered, "I have not visited Gokuh since Prince Vegeta left."

"And you would like to see him," Bardock stated, trying to guess her thoughts on the matter. He craned his head to see her face.

The slave pursed her lips and shook her head again. "No. Yes. I don't know." She put her face in her hands and sighed, "He's so angry with me."

Bardock stood up suddenly and paced, his own tail flicking in annoyance. Callas peaked up from her hands to watch, uncertain as to why he was suddenly so irritated. The emotions radiating off of him were confusing and unpleasant. "He should swallow his pride and work with us! Stupid boy," he finally growled.

Callas straightened, putting her hands to her knees. "I don't think you Saiyans know how to swallow your pride."

Bardock looked at her and for the first time since her slave collar had been altered, she could not feel any emotions coming from him. It was a strange feeling. His face was unreadable but she could tell he was thinking about something; his eyes were calculating and cold, very much like the Monster Prince's before a trip into battle. The older man studied her face a moment longer before saying, "Look, Callas." He knelt down in front of her. "We need him on our side. There's something about him, some strange power... It would benefit our war against the Ice Lizards, something we sorely need."

Callas scowled and crossed her arms over her body. "You want me to convince him to help you guys. Why should I? You are tyrants as much as these Ice Lizards I hear about!" She jumped up and backed away from him, knowing her eyes were turning red with anger. Her skin felt hot and flushed as she fought to keep control over her voice. "You destroy people's homes and take over planets! You use people as slaves or.. or... keep their home planets as a mining station for minerals or whatever else! And you want me to ask him, the man whose home you destroyed, changing our planet into a vacation getaway for aliens, and enslaving our people, if he will help you in a war you are losing?"

Bardock lifted his hands in a calming gesture as she spoke, shaking his head slightly. "You don't understand the terrifying power of this race, nor do you understand the ruthlessness of these people. They will eradicate all life force in the universe that does not bow to their will. They will USE us, Callas, because we are prime fighting machines! I've seen it!" His face flushed as he said this and he turned away from her.

The fury seemed to drain from her body as she heard his words. "You've seen it?" What did he mean by this, she wondered. "They are enslaving Saiyans?"

Bardock nodded. "Some. Only men. They kill our women so we cannot reproduce. Letting women into battle has been something we have, over the years, slowly been banning, but now it is impossible. We will be wiped out."

Callas let her face harden. "You wipe out civilizations every day."

Bardock scowled. "We are the lesser of two evils. Trust me." There was something in his eyes, and she could feel his emotions again, the horror and agony in his thoughts made her cringe. The fact that she liked her guardian slowly started to change her mind, which she hated. When had she grown to like her captors so much?

The girl turned away from him and sighed. "Gokuh will not listen to me. He hates me now. He thinks I am one of you."

The guard took this as a good sign and moved closer to her, putting a hesitant hand on her shoulder. She glanced at it as he spoke, "You are the only one he _will _listen to." He walked around to look at her face. "Please, not just for us but for you and for... for him."

Callas studied Bardock, taking in his emotions, his sincerity. On some level she knew the Monster had put him up to this. Prince Vegeta was tired of having a low class warrior disobeying him, especially one that had so much potential. Callas knew they were experimenting on Gokuh, trying to figure out what had gone wrong with his "programming" as a child, trying to understand why he was so much more human than Saiyan, and trying to figure out why his ki seemed to differ so much from other third class Saiyans. If anything, she could get them to stop experimenting on him. Perhaps it would make him happier. She knew he would be happier not being locked up. The increase in sparring would definitely help relieve anger and stress for him.

"You're lucky I like you, Doc," she sniffed after some thought.

Bardock clapped her on the shoulder and chuckled, relief emanating from him. "Same to you."

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled. "When do I go see him?"

"After our training is over," he said and tossed her into the air. Callas yelped but immediately felt her instincts kick in. She shoved her body around in midair and proceeded to parry his onslaught.

The cell was dimly lit by the evening sun when Callas entered the room. The marble walls were dingy and dark, matching the grey stones on the floor. Even her human nose could smell the stink of blood, sweat, and waste in the room. She searched the shadows for her friend and saw him slumped against the wall, his arms held up by the shackles on his wrist. His spiky hair seemed droopier than before and his skin seemed blotchy and discolored even for the violet hue of the sky that seeped in from the small barred window opposite where she entered.

He made no physical manifestation that might suggest he knew she was there, but she could feel the anger swelling out from him like a red fog. She approached him, closer than usual, now that she knew there were no guards to listen in on their conversation and no Monster Prince to sneak down and catch her. Bardock had used his higher position to get her access to the room for a few private moments and then he had used his sly nature to get them involved in a game of Stones, a strange game that Callas still failed to find logical or fun.

"Gokuh," she said softly. He did not answer. "Gokuh... forgive me." A part of her felt the guilt set in and another part ignored it. She knew this would catch his attention, because she knew him. He would not be able to ignore her if she were sincere about apologizing for everything leading up to this moment. That was just his nature, and it had always been something she loved about him. Until they had been taken by the Saiyans. His kind-hearted nature had not served them at all and now it even seemed to be a weakness of sorts. She was manipulating him, like a good little slave should for her Master. Bile threatened her throat.

The human-Saiyan raised his head to look into her eyes. His face was beaten and swollen in areas. Bruises discolored his cheeks and his lips were split in a few places. The anger and hurt in his eyes began to melt as he studied her. Callas took advantage of his wavering emotions and put a small hand to his cheek. "I hate what they do to you, I do."

Gokuh blinked at her and almost smiled, but the display of emotion screwed his face up and he winced in pain. Callas sighed and gently put her forehead to his. He breathed in deeply, as if taking in her scent. She imagined she must smell much better than this cell or the men that come in here. "You believe me?" she asked quietly. "I only do what I have to in order to survive the Monster."

"You still call him that?" he croaked out. She wondered when the last time he had been given water was.

"Yes, he will always be the Monster Prince," she said with bitterness. Right now she hated him. It was always easier to hate him when he was gone; when he wasn't teasing and taunting her; when he wasn't giving in to her demands; and when she saw what he let happen to Gokuh.

He moved as if to hug her, but he had forgotten his hands were chained back. He let out a gasp of frustration and Callas wrapped her arms around his neck. He put his mouth against her neck and kissed before saying, "Of course I believe you. I was just afraid... I've missed you so much, Chi."

Callas felt the familiar warmth and love radiating from him and the relief and acceptance that overtook his previous negative emotions. It made her heart soar and the aching that seemed to be weighing her down for the past few months lifted a little. "I missed hearing you call me that," she half-sobbed against his neck. The dry blood made him smell metallic, but she did not mind much. If things went as planned, she would soon have him out of here and cleaned up.

She moved away from him to see his face as he spoke. "I'm sorry I called you a traitor."

The slave shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter. I am one, I guess." He opened his mouth but she continued to talk so he would not. "Gokuh, I have a confession to make." He narrowed his eyes a little, unsure of whether or not he would like this, but he nodded at her to continue. "Bardock helped me come down here so we could talk. I was banned from seeing you anymore, but now they want me to come see you."

"Why?"

"They want me to convince you to join them in their war against the Ice Lizards."

His eyes flared with rebellious anger. "Never," he said with bared teeth.

"I told them you would say that," Callas said sadly, glancing out the small window up into the night sky. It was strange to see a sun in the evening, but the moon for this planet did not come around but once every seven years. "But I trust Bardock." She looked back at him and with earnestness, tried to convince him to do the same. "You know that-"

"He's my father?" Gokuh interrupted. "Yeah, I've figured that much out. I'm not stupid."

"I didn't say that."

"I know..." he sighed. "Sorry, continue."

Callas shook her head a little. "It's fine. He has not really admitted to it, but he does not deny it either. Anyway, he takes care of me. He's kind, as kind as any other Saiyan I know." She almost said "Aside from you," but knew that it might upset him if she compared him to his race. In his mind he was human even if it was not by blood. "And he works close with the Monster Prince. I hear about the war and the battles. I have learned quite a bit of Saiya-jin and I'm not sure they really know just how much I understand. It's going badly for them overall. At this rate, they will lose the war against the Ice Lizards."

"Good," Gokuh spat.

"No," Callas said quickly, "no, not good. As bad as the Saiyans are... the Ice Lizards are worse." She watched Gokuh's face distort with disbelief. She put her hands on his face. "Trust me, Son-kun. We want the Saiyans to win. When that is our only option, we want the lesser of two evils."

He frowned, mulling this over. "But there are other options, Chi! Don't you see that? If we can just... just..."

"What?" she stepped back away from him and spread her hands in a wild gesture. "You want me to break you out of here? And we can fight our way through thousands of Saiyan warriors? Most of whom are stronger than you, and all of whom are stronger than me? At the very least, I will die. And what about Bulma? She will die if we try to break her out, she's weaker than I am."

"We could sneak out, somehow."

"Gokuh, I don't know the way out of the palace. They give me some freedom to walk around, sure... but I am restricted. I've never seen the entryways or exits except from windows." She thought for a moment. "I've found some passages that seemed unused, but whether they are really a secret or not I don't know. They are often deserted but they don't lead out of the palace, just different rooms and chambers. This place is huge! I don't think you understand that. It's probably three times as big as Capsule Corp. was."

Frustration and defeat passed over his features and he hung his head down. "There just has to be some other way. I can't help the people that destroyed my home and my friends."

"You can," Callas said softly. "You have to if you want to save us." There was silence for a few minutes. She was afraid she had gone too far, so she desperately searched her mind for some other hook. "Think of it," she said, "as the better way to save the universe... It needs a hero too. But we can only do as much as captives can do right now. Maybe that will change, who knows."

"Yeah," he said, his voice scratching pathetically. "Yeah, maybe it is all we can do. If we come across a chance to escape, we can take it though."

Callas did not answer but watched as he looked up at her with a tiny bit of renewed hope in his eyes. She was unsure if they would ever have the chance to escape, and if they did, where would they go? Maybe with time he would begin to accept living here like her; maybe he would like it, like she sometimes did.

"I'd sure like them to stop sticking me with needles," he shuddered. "I'm not sure what they keep looking for but they obviously aren't finding it."

Callas smiled. "I am pretty sure this will get you out of the dungeon. And if you agree to fight for them, they might give you a better place to stay and a place to spar and train too."

He nodded, feeling more hopeful with every word. "I really need to train. I'm feeling so weak and unfocused."

She furrowed her brow. _I wonder why Bardock was talking about him having such power if he is feeling weak. He still has his collar on too. How could they measure his power with the ki-restrainers. _The marble door slid open and the older man stood in the door way. "Time to go, slave," he said.

Callas nodded and glanced at Gokuh with a smile. "I will tell them your decision..."

Gokuh nodded his affirmation and sadly said, "Goodbye, Chi." She felt his weariness and sorrow reaching out to her but she put her feet in front of her and walked away. It was hard to ignore; Gokuh always had the strongest empathetic channels of anyone she had come across. Maybe it was because she had known him for so long, but she could not say the same about her parents or sister, so maybe not.

When Bardock and Callas had gotten far enough away from the guards, he spoke. "Well?"

"He will help."

The older man smiled and put his hand on her head. "Good. The Prince will be pleased." He sighed and as they got closer to her room, he murmured. "Things are about to change around here."

"I know..."


	5. The Monster's Return Home

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 5  
**The Monster's Return Home**

11.24.2010

updated 6.13.11

When Prince Vegeta returned home, he was surprised, to say the least, to have a visitation request from Kakarrot. Being the prideful man he was, however, he decided to make the man wait. Still he was curious, so after he dropped his scorched battle armor off for repair and polishing, and after he had attended the debriefing session with Nappa and his father, he sought out Bardock, his trusted guard.

He found the man leaving the mess hall, the smell of raw meat around him. Vegeta's stomach rumbled but he pushed that aside. Some servants were already making him a meal fit for royalty and he would eat it in the royal dining hall with his father in a few hours. Until then he had other responsibilities to deal with.

"Bardock," he called. The older Saiyan turned and smiled, bowing low before grasping forearms with his prince. They greeted one another and exchanged pleasant formalities before Vegeta moved in on the business he truly wanted answers to. "The earth Saiyan has requested my presence. Am I correct in assuming this is in answer to where his loyalties lie?"

"Yes, Prince," Bardock said, but there was an obvious pregnant pause begging for more to be said.

The two men walked out of the palace and onto a functionally ornate bridge that connected higher levels of the palace together. It was late in the afternoon so the red sky was purpling thanks to the second sun taking the place of the first. Bardock breathed in the outside air before continuing very carefully, "My prince, his loyalties lie with Callas, that I am certain of. But she told me that she was able to convince him to fight for us against the Ice Lizards."

Vegeta nodded, quite pleased to hear this. "Has any there been any more results in his blood tests?" He was quite curious to see why a third class warrior's power seemed to amplify quite quickly to that of a first class. It was unheard of, unless he was something of legend, which was impossible. Why would a lower class warrior be able to obtain legendary status over a royal prince?

Bardock shook his head. "Neither our scientists nor any of our captive scientists can find anything at all strange about him in his blood or DNA." Their boots tip-tapped across the marble bridge-way. "The final theory as to why he was unwilling to carry out his mission many years ago was that he was dropped on his head, though. His original answer to our interrogations, if you recall."

Vegeta scrunched his nose up. "Really? How odd that a bump to the head would erase all the subliminal programming."

"The behavioral scientists said it was completely possible, and that it also explains why he became as docile as the Chikyuuan humans are. By removing the orders he was susceptible to brainwashing by the humans." Bardock stopped to collect his thoughts. "Or something like that. You would need to speak with them to get the full report."

The prince scoffed. "As if I could understand their mumbo-jumbo." Bardock chuckled in agreement as they entered the other part of the palace. This side of the palace was full of guards quarters, debriefing stations, break rooms, and harems. There were also rooms for high ranking officials that might visit-ambassadors and the like. It was very functional, not quite as lavish as the other side of the palace where the dining hall, mess room, royal quarters, and royal harem quarters were. The war room was below the bridge they had walked over, and all south of the palace were training grounds, baths and spas, and recreational areas. Most of the perimeter outside of the palace, Vegeta idly noted as he scanned the outside once more before continuing along his way, were barracks for all the warriors on duty. Beyond that Saiyans lived in fairly small communities, sometimes just consisting of mates, with plenty of space in between everyone. The palace was the big hub of the small planet.

"Where are we going, my lord?" Bardock asked.

"Just walking," Vegeta answered. "It is good to be home. Mars was a despicable little planet. The creatures on it were of a tribal nature, at best. Peaceful and easy to hunt down. They will mine the materials from their own planet until extinction." He sneered as they walked, and Bardock shifted uncomfortably. Vegeta took note of this but said nothing. This older man was the only Saiyan he would refrain from mocking when it came to an obvious weakness about killing others.

There had been an incident many years ago, right before Kakarrot had been born to him, that King Vegeta had told him about. Apparently in wiping out a civilization, something in Bardock snapped. He spent a whole night and day ranting and raving in the medical bay after he had returned from the extermination to see the king. When King Vegeta saw him, he listened to what he had to say, and it seemed incredible but he had listened to the low class warrior. Many questioned his father, even his own young son, a mere child. Then the day came that Frieza, a prince of the Ice Lizards came and tried to enslave them. Because of the warning, King Vegeta was ready and they were able to make a civilized albeit tenuous pact between the two.

The Saiyans would keep to a specific territory in the universe and so would the Ice Lizards. King Vegeta promoted Bardock from third class warrior to Royal Guard and adviser, though his blood would always state otherwise. Over the years, the Prince of the Ice Lizards tried to worm more and more out of the Saiyans. Each time, Bardock was able to help the King make a decision, but the demands were obvious ploys. The Ice Lizards were aggressive and wanted more territory and servants with which to gain this. Finally the pact was dissolved when the Ice Lizards army moved in on a few planets rich in deposits that were part of the Saiyan's territory and a war erupted between the people.

Vegeta sighed. Now it was a race to see who could obtain more resources and stock pile it away from one another. And whose army was bigger certainly made a difference. Soon enough they would have to destroy one or the other if a resolution could not be found. The prince shook his head to pull his mind from the past. He glanced at Bardock. _I wonder what changed him the day he came back from that mission..._

Bardock looked at his prince in confusion. "Is there something you needed from me?"

They turned a corner and stepped onto an elevator. The mix of technology and older style architecture was something Vegeta enjoyed about his culture. He had heard other races say they had no culture of their own anymore because they drained it from all the people they slaughtered. Vegeta always laughed at them. But growing up around it he could see the changes. Traditional Saiyan culture was being overtaken by the import of more exotic ways, clothing, lifestyles. He wanted to find a way back to the roots of Saiyan civilization, minus the senseless bloodshed of his own people.

He glanced at Bardock in the elevator before saying, "How is Callas's training?"

"It is going well," he answered slowly. "She is strong for a Chikyuuan, of course, but you already knew that. Her greatest asset right now is speed. I think she is keeping some sort of... power," he hesitated at the word, "from us, but I don't have a clue what it could be. I see it sometimes, glimpses of it in the way she looks at others, not always in training but I've seen it happen there too. I wonder if she is even aware of it herself."

"It could just be a development of something new due to the training," Vegeta said. The elevator stopped and they stepped off, heading in the direction of the science wing.

"It could, of course. I believe her slave collar is becoming a hindrance, however," he searched the prince's face to obtain a reaction. "The ki suppressant is keeping her at a plateau that we need to pass or she will still be as fragile as Chikyuuan glass in a battle."

"So turn off the ki suppressant for training," Vegeta stated obviously.

"With your permission, of course, Prince."

Vegeta nodded and then waved him away. "Now go. I must speak with the scientists about some weapons business before dinner."

"As you wish," Bardock bowed and went to find Callas. He needed to make sure she knew the prince was back so she could be ready. Vegeta watched him leave, his mind distracted by how he might use Callas and Kakarrot to his advantage in this miserable war.


	6. A Boring Day With Too Much Time to Think

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 6  
**A Boring Day With Too Much Time to Think**

12.1.2010

updated 7.3.11

Callas lounged in the overstuffed pillowed seat, that was not unlike a couch from her home planet, playing with strands of hair as she watched the world outside from her room. She pretended the clear stone was like that of a television, showing her the nature channel... or something similar. It was days like this that she wished for home; days of boredom and lethargy. Bardock had been too busy to even visit her today, and she assumed the Prince was still gone. She could walk the hallways of the palace she had access to if she really wanted to but nothing ever changed. And she had not been able to visit her sister since the first week of her captivity. The scientists' wing was off-limits to all slaves and servants, except those that worked specifically in the laboratories.

"Once I might think of sneaking in, disguising myself as a lab rat just to see Bulma," Callas muttered. "Or something. I would do _something_." She looked down at herself and saw a slight bulge in her stomach. "Now I am lazy and fat and used to being a sex slave." She scoffed at herself and swatted her stomach. "I sure needed training today. Where is Bardock?" She snapped and looked at the position of the Second sun in the sky. It was dinnertime. There would be no sparring today. Sparring at night would bring too much attention to the gardens where nobody but royalty should be.

Callas sat up on the lavish fluff of the daybed, spreading her hands over the silk robe that caressed her skin. It was blood red, like the color of her hair, with spiraling patterns in black. She supposed she looked royal enough in it and she began to toy with the thought of her future. If only she had been born a Saiyan with hair the color of blood, she would have been a shoe-in for Queen. She smirked at the idea. Power had always held a certain allure. On Chikyuu she had been much more powerful than most of the world's population. Here, she was at the bottom of the food chain and it really bothered her. At least she was of a higher station than most servants and other whores.

The door unlocked and slid open, scaring Callas out of her thoughts. She jumped up and looked at the doorway. Nappa, the Royal Battlemaster was staring at her with an unreadable expression. His size was always a little unnerving to Callas, with his big bulky arms and chest; he reminded her of a giant ox, always ready to charge and destroy. She felt a cool draft on her skin and realized that her robes were not closed. It had been so uneventful without the Monster around today that she had wandered around mostly unclothed out of sheer joy and some laziness.

Nappa raked his eyes over the bare skin that peaked out of the robe fronts but did not move. Finally he said in a gruff voice, "I assume the prince is not here then, slave?" The man had never held much respect for Callas, and he often made it known that he viewed her as lower than dirt.

She shook her head, not trusting her voice, and slowly slid her hands up to pull the robe together in the front. She kept her arms around her body and stared at him, taking deep breaths to keep calm. He always made her feel uncomfortable and unimportant, and she hated it. Why should he like her though? She was not a Saiyan. It seemed that Saiyans only liked other Saiyans, in general. Why would she be an exception?

Because Prince Vegeta treats me as one. And Bardock, she answered silently, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Don't give me that insolent look, whore," Nappa snapped. "If Prince Vegeta comes here, send him to me immediately. Doesn't matter what time it is."

Callas cringed at his words but nodded. "Yes." And then she added, "my lord," after the look her gave her. When Nappa had left, Callas let herself slide to the floor, feeling the tension that had built up ease out of her system. It was run-ins with Saiyan like Nappa that made her fear being here. They could easily kill her before anyone could do anything about it. That was why she had been given a guard to stay with her. Still, over the last few months it had become known that if anyone harmed her, they would be executed, or worse... whatever was worse than execution, Callas wasn't sure, but it sure stopped the general threats and aggressive advances she received. It was mostly angry glares like those Nappa gave that she received now.

Not five minutes later Bardock came into her room. He took one look at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Callas glared up at him. "Oh, my personal guard was gone and Nappa came in here and threatened me."

Bardock quirked an eyebrow at her. "Oh, did he?"

"Well... with his eyes. He hates me," she pouted. She found no sympathy in Bardock's emotions or his facial expression. Still, pouting was nice.

"Nappa hates most everyone, especially non-Saiyans," the older man remarked.

"I know."

"Anyway, the prince is back-"

"I assumed," Callas interrupted him, "Since Nappa was looking for him."

"Yes, I sent him to the labs. I just came to warn you, since he will probably visit you tonight. His mood was not foul," Bardock told her, knowing what she would ask, "But he has been away from female company for weeks."

"Aww," Callas smiled and stood, sauntering towards her guard. "Is Doc worried about his ward?"

Bardock ignored her and side-stepped the physical contact she was about to employ. "I regret to inform you that we will have no time to train today. We will see what tomorrow brings. I have no idea what the prince is planning for you long-term or when you will be sent to battle, but he will see Kakarrot tonight or tomorrow."

Callas smiled at this. "And he will be out of the dungeon?"

"Perhaps. Still under close watch."

"Of course."

Bardock studied her for a moment. "If there are any sneaky plans forming in your mind that might have something to do with Kakarrot, you better stop them now. If you two try anything to escape, anything at all, you will both be killed." He grabbed her chin to keep her from looking down and stared into her eyes. "Nothing like this has ever been done before. The Prince and the King are taking great strides to put their faith in you two to help our planet and our race survive in this war. They are putting great efforts to swallow their pride in even _allowing _outsiders to help with our war. Don't fuck it up."

Callas nodded, feeling the fervent urgency radiating from Bardock. She felt her heart speed up and a strange mix of emotions wash over her. Ugh, the Monster Prince has been away far too long... _why do I think this way about Bardock?_ _Stop it_, she ordered herself. Being this close to his face was too much. She cared for him (which was strange in itself, to care for her captors) but like a father. Only like a father.

Bardock did not seem to notice her internal struggle and pressed closer to her. "Promise me you will not try to escape, Callas. I would not be happy if you were killed." His voice was rough but quiet, full of meaning that she had trouble sloshing through in her own confusing mental condition.

She swallowed, filled with disdain and extremely pleased that he liked her enough it would affect him if she died. Her stomach fluttered nervously at this close proximity. Finally she was able to gain control over her voice and she gasped, "I promise."

"Good," Bardock said, releasing her chin and shoving her back as the door opened up behind them. He turned to find the prince standing there with no emotion on his face. He bowed immediately and greeted him.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes, glancing between them, before walking into the room and gesturing Bardock out. "Leave us, Bardock." His eyes found Callas's and with a start she realized she had not greeted him at all. She hurried into a bow and glanced up at him, still flustered. The look in his eyes made her body quiver with fear and anticipation. He was angry and yet full of lustful need. She barely noticed as Bardock left the room.


	7. Bardock & the LavenderHaired Scientist

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 7  
**Bardock and the Lavender-Haired Scientist**

12.1.2010

updated 7.3.11

"As you wish, my lord," Bardock bowed out, leaving his prince and his ward in the room and locking it behind him. Once outside, Bardock entered the room right next to hers and shut the door. This had been his new room since Callas's capture. He had monitors to watch her room as needed and an alarm that alerted him to anyone moving in the secluded hall she had been placed in. He rarely missed anyone coming and going, even the prince.

Bardock's room was much sparser and smaller than Callas's, though it did not bother him at all. He preferred to live this way. The walls were a dark grey and one wall was made of clear stone, much like the girl's, so that he had a view of outside. He often kept an opaque blanket over most of it to keep his room dark. He had quite a few computers and tons of wires all around on a large desk that took up most of one side of the room. The other side had his bed. There were shelves on the wall over his bed that held the few small knickknacks that meant anything to him. A closet was in the back corner of the room, full of his casual and battle gear. Nothing was out of place in his room, and he liked to keep it that way.

He settled back onto his bed after he made sure the security measures were in place for Callas and the prince, typing pass codes into his computers; they would not be disturbed tonight if it could be helped. The aged man knew Vegeta would keep her busy all night, and a smile crept over his mouth as he heard the screams start. They were always a mixture of pain and pleasure, and in the beginning he had worried about the weak woman. Now, for the most part, he knew she would be alright.

Bardock could not help but be a little envious of the prince, having such a beautiful female to himself. Such were the ways of the Saiyan world, though, and he would never do anything to jeopardize his place in the palace. It was by a stroke of luck, as most people would call it, that Bardock had ended up in such a position, being that he was only third class by blood. It was more of a curse in his memory though.

He had lived with this curse since the day he purged that planet of all life just over 25 years ago. At the time, he thought his life was in ruins. Both his sons were sent off to other planets to purge when they were able to see the moon of that system. One would live alone and never know the Saiyan ways. But something in Fate changed when his king listened to what he had to say, about what was coming. It could all have ended so easily, so fast, if King Vegeta had turned a blind eye to Bardock's rants. Everyone else thought he was crazy, but they could not see what Bardock saw... the future.

However, the future was not as certain as he had thought so many years ago. So much changed, and it all seemed to depend on tiny decisions.

Bardock had seen the red haired warrioress in a dream. At the time, he thought she would come to him. He had not been sure that she would have the means to help his race, but he knew she would come. When he saw her on Chikyuu... the surprise he felt did not outweigh the anger at Fate for sending her in such a weak vessel. Still, thanks to the curse from that Kanassan, he knew it was her, he could feel it.

The warrior could not deny the feelings he felt towards Callas in the beginning. He was, after all, still a man. But when Vegeta laid claims to her, he knew he could never have her. His dreams were only dreams. He had gotten too close to her in the room earlier. His heart skipped a beat and he hoped that the prince would not reprimand him for the proximity. He meant nothing by it but a warning. Spending months with the girl constantly had definitely given him a good idea of how she acts and reacts, and he was worried that by letting her and Kakarrot back together they would try a fruitless escape attempt. She was bold enough, but sometimes quite stupid.

The proximity of her face to his had resurfaced the feelings he had so professionally covered up and forgotten. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers hard to the temple of his head, rubbing. It could not, would not happen again. He needed some female company that was all. She was like a daughter to him now, and thinking that way about her was... well, it was wrong. He would be an animal, like she had so called them for weeks after her initial capture. He would not prove her right and act on such low-bred urges.

Bardock stood up, the sounds of the prince and his slave's tumble still going on though quieter than before still echoing in his head. He needed to satisfy his own urges for once if he was to continue his exceptional performance as a Royal Guard. He tapped a few more commands onto the heat-sensitive light board. The doors here were now only accessible to him, the King, and the Prince. Not even Callas could exit on her own accord. Nappa's request to see the Prince would just have to wait a while longer.

His casual armour was still on and he shrugged a cloak over his shoulders for further identification. Nobody would stop a Royal Guard at night in low security areas. After a quick glance over the security screens, he left his room and made his way to the royal harem. At least he had a few good perks with his job, like the pick of the whores. On his way to the harem, he passed a few guards, none that seemed too interested him him, and a few servants who groveled around him pathetically. His tail flicked with annoyance at them and they always hurried off when they were completely past him.

"Probably off to some secret love-rendezvous or to steal some food from the kitchen," he muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. As long as they were back and did their duty, who cared. Well, others might, but he did not. Only if they put the Prince, the King, or Callas in danger did he care. And Kakarrot, but he could never admit that to anyone, not unless Kakarrot truly reformed from his Chikyuuan ways and took up the way of the Saiyan Warrior.

As he rounded the corner, he heard a slight intake of breath and saw a shape flit to the side. His brows knit together and muscles became taut, ready to take decisive action if need be, and he slowed his pace, careful not to scare who or what away from their hiding place at the notch in the wall. As with most doors in the palace, the doorway recessed into the wall, so Bardock peeked around the corner to see a slender figure pressed into the corner. There was a cloak over her so he could not make out the features well, but not many males were that small and the closer he pressed he could smell her.

His arm shot forward and he snatched her cloak, pulling her towards him and using his other hand to pull the hood back. She yelped at the suddenness of it all and stared up at him with wide blue eyes. Bardock cursed under his breath as he recognized her. She was hard not to recognize with her blue eyes and lavender colored hair.

"What are you doing?" he demanded aggressively.

The fear melted from her eyes and Bulma Briefs straightened herself, staring straight back at him and shoving her jaw forward as she answered, "None of your business." It sounded like she was about to call him something, but she stopped, which was good because he was already irritated at being interrupted.

He pulled her closer, face curling into a snarl as he said in a low voice, "I found you sneaking around an area off limits to slave scientists like you. I think it is my business, woman."

Bardock watched as her resolve wavered. She glanced away before stammering an obvious lie. "I-I had to... go get a specific tool that was not in the lab. One of my servants must have misplaced it or... or not brought it back to me. I don't know."

He raised his eyebrow at her. "And you had to do this in the middle of the night? You work this late?"

"Well," she looked at him and said quite frankly, "Yes, I often do. There isn't much else for me to do around here."

"Oh," he said, releasing his iron grip on her cloak. She stumbled back a bit but otherwise caught her balance quickly. He narrowed his eyes and continued, "Still, you are lying about the tool, so I'll take you back to the labs before you get into more trouble." He watched the disappointment and anger flash across her face. Her eyes were as expressive as Callas's. Maybe it was the fact that they were sisters... or maybe it was a Chikyuuan trait. Kakarrot seemed to do it as well. "Come on," he guided her though she snapped at him not to touch her, and they walked the halls towards the lab.

Bardock watched the scientist with some curiosity. His urges had not been taken care of and he noticed that she had a delicious body for someone locked up in a lab day after day. She was even more curvaceous than Callas, taller and with larger breasts too. Her hair was quite a bit shorter, only long enough to pull into the tiny ponytail it was in now. Much of it was falling around her shoulders in disarray. She was very prideful, walking in front of him with her back straight and shoulders back, like she was strutting a victory of some sort. He chuckled and she glared back at him in response.

"What's so funny?" she demanded. Her use of the Saiyan language was very faulty. Much more so than Callas, which made Bardock strangely proud of his ward.

He ignored her question and asked instead, "Why were you sneaking around?"

She huffed and continued walking. They were at the security access door to the labs, which was supposed to be guarded but he glanced around and saw nobody near. If he had a scouter he could be sure, but he did not feel any ki the way that Callas could. He was still rusty on it and sometimes he was not sure he was really feeling ki at all, and it was just his mind making it up. If he could figure it out, he would certainly show the prince how, as it would truly give the Saiyans a leg-up in the war.

Bulma stopped at the door and looked at him hesitantly before asking if he had an access card. Bardock did, though not on him, but the look on her face made him wonder if she needed his. He shook his head and watched her face flush as she looked around. She reached down her shirt and pulled one out. He grinned at her and shook his head.

"I know now why Callas has such an ability to get into trouble," he remarked. At the mention of her sister, Bulma glanced at him hard. She grabbed his shoulder and the desperation in her eyes was evident. "Do you know where she is? Is she still alive? Nobody will tell me anything!"

Bardock shrugged her off and said, "Of course she's still alive. I am her personal guard-"

"Oh, she has one of those too? It's nice to know I'm not the only one," Bulma murmered.

"And nobody tells you anything because you are a slave scientist," he continued. "You are supposed to stay in the labs under lock down because you are a risk, and obviously they are right since you are trying to run away. I would think you intelligent types would know better."

"I wasn't trying to run," she snapped at him. A noise down the hall distracted her and Bardock took the card and ran it, pushing her inside and following quickly. He was curious and he did not want her in trouble just yet. If he had to, he would tell the the king or the prince about this. Once inside, he noticed the guard here was missing as well. He looked around, starting to worry about the security in this place.

"Where is your room?" Bardock whispered. Bulma lead the way to a room far in the back of the labs, the lock down area. Here there were a few guards, some snoozing and he could hear one in the bed of a scientist. The noises were mostly screams of pain. Apparently it was normal as the guards on duty did not stir from their sleep. The two crept by and into Bulma's room. Bardock shut the door behind them but stayed standing by it. The other guards might risk fucking a slave scientist but he would not. If they were damaged, it would be a severe punishment for the guard that did it. Technology was a necessity for the war.

"I wasn't running away," Bulma repeated after she paced a few times and finally sat on her bed, shoving her head in her hands. "It's just been months since I've seen or heard from Callas. She used to sneak up and see me when I could get out of the lab to go for parts. She doesn't even send servants with messages for me anymore. I'm just so worried."

Bardock cocked his head. "She did all that? Damn, and I didn't even know it was that common. I caught her a couple times. Didn't catch the servant thing." He smirked and Bulma's eyes widened at the fact that she just told on her sister. The warrior chuckled and said, "Don't worry. She gets away with a lot, but she has been on a tighter leash lately. That's why you haven't seen her."

The scientist looked relieved and she pinched the bridge of her nose a moment before staring back at him."Well, what else do you want? Please... don't tell anyone about this. I do my work, I just wanted to see my sister..." It seemed as if she was going to say someone else but Bardock did not press her.

"I won't tell anyone unless it become a problem. Where is your guard?"

"I don't know," she answered. "Some nights he disappears. Probably off to the harem to a woman he can actually bed. I hear we scientists are off-limits while we behave." She glanced at the wall towards the room where the bedding was actually going on. "I am not so certain sometimes." He saw a fear sift through her eyes.

She looked like Callas sometimes, Bardock thought, and a protective feeling washed over him. "Nothing will happen to you. You are bringing us new technology that the King and the Prince are truly excited about. Everyone knows not to touch you." He glanced back at the door before continuing, "I am not sure why this is allowed to happen other than it is not known about. That will not be so for long, though."

"It's nice to know you are not all animals," she said softly. He saw the tension leave her body and fought to keep himself at the door.

He lifted the card up and said, "Whose is this?"

Bulma shook her head. "I'm not sure. I conned a servant into lifting it off anyone that might not miss it for awhile and promised to have it back to them by tomorrow."

His mouth twitched. "You probably need to be under heavier watch..." Then he laughed as softly as he could, trying not to alert the sleeping guards outside. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and set the card on the table by the door. "This better be back to that guard by tomorrow. I will patrol tomorrow night and if I find you in the halls again, I will report you."

Bulma nodded quickly, obviously aiming to please him. Then she asked with a strangeness in her voice, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Bardock shrugged and asked, "What about the guards up front?" Surely she could not do anything to them. They must be shirking their duties.

She gestured at the door. "That is them sleeping out there to keep watch for... uh, the energetic one. We only have one guard back here normally, one at the access door inside, and one on the outside."

"How often does this happen?"

"Once a week, at least."

Bardock shook his head. "Go to sleep," he told her and left, wondering himself why he had been so nice to her. Perhaps it was the fact that she was Callas's sister. Perhaps...

He left the lab thoroughly disgusted with the lack of security measures in place and continued to the harem quarters. Despite it all, or maybe because of it all, he needed to have some fun.


	8. The Greater Evil

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 8  
**The Greater Evil**

12.1.2010

updated 7.4.11

Today was a different day for Gokuh. Today he was let out of his chains, though the ki bond shackles still remained on him with the collar. That would not put a damper on his mood though. He was able to stand and walk around, to get some much needed exercise. He felt like skin and bones, with muscles sagging from lack of use. He put his face to the open window with bars and sniffed the outside air. It was different than Chikyuu—a place with smells he could scarcely remember anymore, but he knew it was different. He had been given a decent sized breakfast that was not picked over by the guards and a tub of warm water to wash off with.

He had a feeling that Prince Vegeta was coming to see him today and that was why they were giving him all of this. His request to meet with him was the only difference in his days that he could think of to warrant all of this. The servants cowered from him as usual, but he smiled nonetheless and thanked them. Nobody ever seemed to understand what he was saying unless they had that scouter thing on their face though, and only guards carried those.

Gokuh stretched and washed his skin off. The dirt and blood and grime was enough to turn the water brown. He frowned at this and put the water in the corner of his cell. There was not much he could to do clean the cell beyond that without more tools, and he was not that accommodating to the prince that enslaved him and destroyed his planet. So he let it be. After wolfing down his breakfast he decided to get some exercise while he could, so he began with pushups. By the time he heard some commotion outside his cell, he had done 500 pushups, 500 situps, and an array of punches and kicks to warm himself up. He was extremely rusty.

The door groaned open as he was dusting himself off and the Prince entered the room. The Monster Prince, as Callas would say to him. He smiled broadly at him and said, "Hey, I figured you were coming today."

The man tilted his head up so he could narrow his eyes down at the taller prisoner. His face curled into a snarl and he said, "Address me properly, you idiot, and this meeting might go somewhere positive for you."

"Oh," Gokuh blinked. "Right. Sorry, Prince Vegeta."

"It'll do," Vegeta growled and glanced around the dungeon cell with disdain. "What do you want?"

"Nobody told you?"

"Of course they told me, imbecile! But you are wishing to make a demand, so you ask me in your own fool words," the man snapped, his tail flicking in irritation.

Gokuh fought to keep the anger from his face and his voice. He had watched the guards for months and learned to be more stoic from them. It kept them from picking on him so much when he could do so successfully. He looked into the prince's eyes and said, "I would like to help in the war against the Ice Lizards."

The Monster Prince calmed himself, letting his tail wrap back around his waist and said, "Why should I believe you? You are a traitor to your race."

Gokuh frowned. "But I didn't even know about you guys until... I don't know how long I've been in here anymore."

"And when we came to retrieve you, you stood against us," the prince watched him carefully and Gokuh understood this was a test. Still, Gokuh knew no other way than to be honest and open. He had to find a way to say this without harming his cause.

"I am not saying that I agree with what you did to me, to Callas, or to my planet. I don't," Gokuh said slowly. "But I have nowhere else to go now, and this planet the closest thing I have to a home now. I am willing to learn about my race and I am willing to protect it from a greater evil."

"Aha," Vegeta said with a cold smile. "So that is how she got to you."

The other man gave him a confused look so the Prince continued. "Callas. I know she spoke with you. She doesn't do anything without my permission," the prince taunted at him. Gokuh fought to keep his anger from showing as the man continued to speak, "I have decided to grant you this since she and Bardock both speak on your behalf. Just know this is a trial period and if you do anything wrong, you will be punished severely." He smiled wickedly, "or worse."

Gokuh nodded stiffly. "So what do I need to do?"

Vegeta glanced at the brown water in the corner and scrunched his nose in distaste. "You will be trained for the next few months, as long as we can continue to keep up the fight against Freiza successfully. This will give you time to hone your skills after time in a dungeon. This will also give us an idea of where your loyalties truly lie."

"And these ki suppressants?"

"They will remain on you in case we need them," he answered shortly. "So don't do anything stupid, third-class fool."

Gokuh half-smiled. What he took from the Prince was that they would be on him but not active unless needed. Good, he felt empty without his warm energy flowing through him.

Vegeta stepped closer to him and shoved his face close to him, having to hover up a foot to be even with the other Saiyan. "And remember this, Kakarrot, if you do anything out of line, Callas will suffer for it as well."

His eyes widened. "What? That's not fair!" he exclaimed.

"I know," the Saiyan Prince said with a devious grin. "Get used to it and listen to your superiors. That's the way it works around here." Vegeta sniffed and hovered back towards the door, setting his feet back on the ground. "Once your training is over and you are back up to the level you should be, you will be allowed to fight in the war. For now, be ready to move. You will room in a high security area with a few other warriors. The guard that escorts you will explain more." With that, the prince swept out of the room, royal cloak fluttering behind him.

Gokuh stood there staring after him, a little nervous about what he had just gotten into. He did not like to kill. Fighting in a war meant killing. But all life was important. Surely there was some way he could teach the other side not to mess with the Saiyans, and they would stop this insane war. Surely... he could figure something out, right?

"Right," he answered himself. "And then I'll figure out a way to get Callas, Bulma, and I out of here."

A few hours later the promised guard came to escort him. It was not a man he knew nor recognized, and as they walked the guard told him what to expect.

"I will not be assigned to guard your room, there are three guards that watch in shifts. If you need anything during the hours you are on lock down, ask them," his words were slow and strangely accented, and Gokuh guessed he was speaking by translation from the scouter on his head. "You will be allowed out during First sun hours with the guard that has been assigned to train and record your progress. During Second sun hours you will eat and train in the training rooms as you see fit. Third sun hours you will be on lock down in your rooms, where food will be provided as well as a communal bathing, septic areas, and beds. You will wear the battle gear given to you daily so you can be identified as a risk. Any questions?"

Gokuh shook his head as they stopped at a large door. The guard keyed a code in and pushed him in. "Good. There's your room." He left with little pomp and let the door lock behind him.

"Wow," Gokuh breathed as he looked at the large room. It was not very fancy, in fact is was mostly functional and sparse, but it was much larger than the dungeon he had been living in. The area up here was much more high-tech too, with sliding doors that automatically locked and... well, that was all he had seen so far. The room he stood in had a large table and a few sitting areas with couches. Everything followed a brown and green pattern, which Gokuh found quite comfortable, very reminiscent of Chikyuu. There were four doors on the side walls and glancing into one that was open he noted they were bedrooms. The door on the back wall was also open and it seemed to be the bathroom. Near the table he saw cabinets and drawers and figured it might be the kitchen. He did not see a fridge nor could he smell any food so he was not sure. In response to the thought about food his stomach rumbled. He patted it apologetically and was about to have a seat when the entrance unlocked and slid open.

Three guys filed in with the guard behind them saying, "Food will be in shortly. Lock down starts now." The door then shut and locked again before the guys noticed Gokuh standing in the middle of the common area.

"Great, another one," the first guy said. He had every aspect of a Saiyan up to the brown furry tail but his skin was tinted-green and his teeth seemed a bit sharper than normal.

The second guy was an alien that Gokuh had no idea about. His skin was scaley and purple with green rings patterned across it and eyes that bulged in different directions. He was the shortest of the bunch. His head was large and curved over like an animal that used to walk on four legs and now walks on two. It was a strange sight to see, but he seemed nice enough. At least Gokuh thought he was smiling at him, the way his scaled mouth curved up. "Oh, ignore Kelder. He's just bitter... all the time. Who are you?"

The third guy moved from behind Kelder at that time and stared at the newcomer in shock. "Gokuh?" he said in disbelief.


	9. Still Weak

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 9  
**Still Weak**

12.1.2010

updated 7.4.11

Callas found herself banned to her quarters for the next several days. She was given no answer as to why, but her body was sore for them all so it mattered little to her. She was getting her exercise with the Monster Prince, and enjoying most every minute of it, so the lack of training sessions with her personal guard were not missed. She woke up late today, enjoying the luxury of sleeping in, when Bardock came barging into her room.

"Hey," she exclaimed, pulling the sheets over her naked form. She saw his face flush a little but like the professional guard he was, he did not comment though instead said, "We are training today. Get up, get ready, and let's go." He turned and left the room for her to dress. Callas watched him go, astounded at the distant way in which he was treating her. She huffed and shoved the covers off her body, swinging her legs out of bed and standing with a long stretch. She decided to take her time since he was being mean to her and after a few minutes she heard him yell from the other room, "If you don't pick up the pace I won't train you today, slave!"

Callas grumbled but did as she was told. She supposed that sitting around waiting for sex might begin to grow very tiresome, if she thought about it long enough. She pulled on her skin tight battle gear, put her favorite thin dress (one she had been allowed to keep from Chikyuu) over it, and then put the flexible over-armour on her torso. She pulled the long greaves on and slid her floppy boots over her feet. Grabbing a hair-tie on the way out, she pulled her long hair into a loose ponytail down her back. "Happy?" she said, putting a hand on her hip.

"Ecstatic," Bardock answered and pulled her out the door.

As they approached the gardens, she finally asked, "What is wrong with you? You are being so demanding today!"

"We're on a schedule from now on. We only have the hours of the First Sun to train and I expected you down here an hour ago," he answered shortly.

"I didn't know we were training today," she said honestly.

He looked at her and nodded. "Well you were supposed to have been told. I'll punish the servant that forgot to give you that message," he growled and pulled them through the gardens. It was as lovely as ever in all of it's alien colors. They rounded a turn in the pathway here past the purple patch of what seemed to be mutated roses, and then there past the tallest of the trees in the garden, maneuvering to a secluded area as normal.

Callas blinked. Wow, he was a little on edge today. He often let servants slide on small things such as this.

"And you've been getting soft just sitting around like a sex slave," he continued.

"Well, Doc, that's what I am."

He eyed her for a moment, a strange feeling of sadness and pain she felt coming from his chest, before bypassing the comment. "The war took a turn for the worse so we need to get you two trained as fast as possible.

"Us two?" Callas asked as they breached the tall wall of trees. It opened into a clearing and there was another man sitting there, a very familiar one. She gasped at the sight of him and pulled her wrist from Bardock's. "Gokuh!" she half-shrieked and ran over to him.

Gokuh grinned broadly at her and pulled her into a hug. "Hey, Chi." He held her tight until she finally pulled back. He looked at her out in the light of the sky and noticed how healthy she looked. "I'm glad they are taking care of you at least."

Callas smirked. "You look and smell a lot better than the last time I saw you. I'm glad."

Gokuh laughed and then quieted as Bardock stood on either side of them and cleared his throat. "We need to begin. Gokuh only has until Second sun for personal training."

At the mention of this, Gokuh nodded and Callas watched as he took on a very serious face. It seemed unnatural to him, more like what she saw on all the Saiyans. She supposed it might be normal for him though since he was a Saiyan, but still... it worried her. He was not already losing touch with who he is... was he?

She could only suppose that some adverse effects to this plan of hers would happen. They would go to war, and war had to change people. It did on their home planet, anyway. Maybe it could be different for Gokuh as a Saiyan, being that his race was that of warriors. What would it do to her? The evil she helped Gokuh fight on her planet seemed trivial in comparison to their current lives.

She pushed these thoughts aside, knowing it would distract her, and focused on the training. They sparred, extremely hard. She had trouble keeping up with them both in dealing any damage. She could move and dodge them more easily, but she got hit several times. Gokuh was more relentless than Bardock. At one point he managed to strike her so hard she went flying into a tree. He stopped pursuing her and called out, "Chi... are you okay?"

Callas pushed herself up and pulled some splinters out of her arm. "Yeah. Just peachy, Son-kun. Thanks." She glared at him and used all the speed she could muster to punch him in the face. It worked, but she had a feeling he let her.

"Sorry," he said, "I just figure... we both need to be ready for this, so we need to try our hardest."

She knew he was saying she needed more work. She was still much weaker than him. Still, she took it personally and attacked him as aggressively as she could. She managed to get a few legitimate punches and kicks in on him, but overall he avoided her. _He seems so much stronger than he was on Chikyuu... how can that be? He hasn't even been training! I HAVE! ARRGH!_ She clenched her fists and fought with him, dodging, kicking, missing, jumping away, punching, taking a punch and another and another.

Finally she broke away and screamed, "Alright! I get it! I'm weaker than you!"

Gokuh stopped attacking and stood a few feet away. "Gee, Chi... I didn't mean—"

"I know, I know," she panted. "I need a break."

Bardock appeared next to her, causing her to jump, and said, "There are no breaks in war. From now on, our training sessions are constant. The moment you get here until the moment Second sun is high in the sky, you spar. I'll join in sometimes, and if I can get permission, I will have another warrior or two down here to help train you."

Callas blinked in disbelief, "But..."

"Anything to win this war," Bardock growled and hit her, sending her flying towards Gokuh, who caught her. "Now let's do this. You can fight together or we can free-for-all, it's your choice. Just fight." He pulled into a fighting stance and beckoned them both to attack him. Gokuh set Callas down who stumbled, but remained on her feet. They looked at one another and with a sigh from Callas and a smirk from Gokuh, they attacked the older warrior.

Her slave life was getting harder and harder each passing day.


	10. Good Luck Trophy

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 10  
**Good Luck Trophy**

12.3.2010

updated 7.4.11

Callas had little chance to say goodbye to Gokuh as Bardock and she walked him to the lock down living quarters unit. Bardock kept them at a fast pace, interrupting any conversation they might attempt to start. She waved at Gokuh as he entered the new area he was inhabiting and almost immediately got directed away.

She trudged next to Bardock for a few silent moments before asking him in a quiet voice, so as not to attract any unwanted attention, "Why are you being so pushy today?"

A strained expression came over the older man's face and he shook his head in response. Callas opened her mouth to talk again but he sent her an icy glare, causing her mouth to snap shut again. _Okay, no talking right now. Got it._ Callas grumbled to herself and followed his quick pace. After a few more moments of walking she finally looked around and realized there were a lot of Saiyans moving about today. More so than normal. Everyone seemed a bit hectic, actually. She frowned and wondered if something terrible had happened, and a small pit opened up in her stomach, causing worry to stretch over her.

If the war really had taken a turn for the worse, there was no telling how soon Gokuh and she would have to be ready to leave. Fear gripped her stomach over the worry and she felt a little queasy. _I might talk a big game, but... am I really strong enough to go into war with these aliens? And if they are having a hard time against other stronger warriors, how do I have a chance? Why am I even getting a chance? Are other pleasure slaves being recruited to fight?_

As they turned a corner, Bardock and Callas found themselves in a very busy, very large hallway. It was somewhere close to the war room, Callas knew, and she wondered why they were taking a longer route than necessary back to her room. Normally she was kept under-wraps and out of the way, since she had an issue with egging guards and warriors on and getting herself into trouble. Many of the Saiyans looked her way. All but two were male and most of them leered at her, tails flicking in a dominant way. The overwhelming desire and curiosity that filled the room made Callas uneasy, so she walked a little closer to Bardock, who grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him. She glanced up at him and saw that he too was eying the other Saiyans warily. She smiled a little, a small warmth filling her as she realized that he would protect her, and she had a feeling it was not only because he was ordered to. He was probably the closest thing she had to a friend on this alien planet she now called home.

As they made their way to the end of the hallway, she heard a few Saiyans talking. One was very large and very bulky, and she wondered just how effective he really was in a fight. She did not see fat Saiyans very often, but apparently they were good warriors too, otherwise she could not imagine them being accepted by the Saiyan society. The other was about the same as all the others—average height, muscular, and angry-looking with dark, spiky hair.

The fat one whispered audibly in Saiyan, and Callas merely got the gist of the conversation as he was speaking fast and in what seemed to be a lazy dialect: "Hey, there she is. That blood-haired female."

The other male nodded and said back, "No wonder the prince keeps her locked up. She's attractive, for an alien."

"I heard she's going to battle with us against the Ice Lizards."

Muscular man snorted and said, "I'd rather just have her with us to play with her."

Shifty eyes searched the corridor as the fat one shushed his comrade. "Don't say that, you know better. Besides, her hair, that color, is good luck. We need all the luck we can get."

He growled in response. "Yeah, yeah. Luck doesn't win battles. Power does. Let's get back to training."

They started to walk further away so Callas had a hard time hearing them in the commotion of the crowd after that. The last thing she heard was the fat one complaining about how he thought they were going to get some food in the mess hall first. She remained quiet until they got to her room. Bardock pushed her in and locked the door behind them. She slid her boots off, a habit still from Chikyuu, before making her way to the plush red carpet of her prison.

Bardock watched her walk slowly to the clear stone of her far wall in deep contemplation before he cleared his throat to get her attention. She turned to gaze at him, her eyes pale in a daze. "We need the men to see more of you," he explained, "To see your hair and to see you are active and healthy."

Callas frowned and blinked, her eyes focusing as she pulled herself from her thoughts. Bardock looked uneasy with the idea of it. "Why is it that my hair is so important to you people? Of course it's red, but you can just as easily dye someone else's hair the color of blood. A better warrior, a Saiyan, perhaps."

Her guard gazed at her thoughtfully. "True," he said slowly. "I don't know why Vegeta fought so hard to let you do all of this. To train and fight with us, when you are not one of us."

Callas watched his eyes tighten as he said this and she could feel the falseness coming from him. She wondered what he was hiding but said nothing about it. She was too tired to really care. Her body ached from training and from the Monster Prince. She wanted to sleep and stop thinking about all of this, about this life that was now hers. So different from anything she had ever known.

"...thought it would be fun to keep you around. Maybe he sees something about you that will help him in the upcoming battles more than just being a mascot," Bardock continued, though she did little to listen to him. He noticed and stopped talking after a while.

The slave girl took a few deep, exhausted breaths before looking over at him again. He was anxious, standing there, staring at her. "What is it?" she asked him.

"Your sister..." he began, but trailed off.

Vaguely, Callas wondered if something had happened to Bulma. She knew she should be more worried, but she found it hard to care right now. It was as if her ki suppressant bonds had been turned on again and had sucked all the energy from her to make her feel so weak. But those bonds had been kept off for weeks now. Something she was very pleased about, to be able to feel all of her energy flowing through her again. The actual technology was still on her wrists and neck as a reminder that it could always be turned on again, and to let others know, as if they could not guess, that she was still a slave. Finally Callas asked, "She's alright, isn't she?"

He looked at her strangely before showing his hands in a form of apology, "Oh, no, no. Yeah, she is alright. I just wanted to ask... She's worried about you. Apparently you used to send the servants with messages. Go ahead and do it, let her know you are alright, but don't set any more meetings up. She's lucky it was I that caught her the other night."

Callas grinned sheepishly. He knew about the servants now, hm? Probably Bulma's big mouth. "Okay... thanks, Doc." She trundled over to the fluffy daybed and mostly collapsed on it, closing her eyes. "I'm going to nap now, if you don't mind..." she mumbled.

Bardock nodded at her, watching her fall quickly asleep. He quietly walked over to her and brushed hair away from her face. "I'm sorry to push you so hard all the time. But if you are truly the warrioress that will save our race... I need to find out." He shook his head and stared at her pretty face. "But how could it be you? How... you are so small and weak!" He pulled his hand away and clenched his fists. He did not understand this gift he had, and he was not sure she would understand if he told her. He was already too close to his ward and he was afraid if the Prince or the King new about it, he would be reassigned. He had to stay close to her... and her sister. There was something about them both that he needed to figure out. An unnatural desire to protect them both.

He just wasn't sure what it was, or why.


	11. Eyes Closed, Her Mouth Is Open

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 11  
**Eyes Closed, Her Mouth Is Open **

12.3.2010

updated 7.4.11

When the girl opened her eyes, she was in some sort of thick, yellow-green liquid. On her face she saw a strange piece of equipment that covered her nose and mouth; she could only assume it was giving her oxygen since she could breath in the substance she was immersed in. She looked around, but when she tried to move, she was constricted. Her eyes slowly found the source of it. She was restrained by some sort of curved bar that went over her chest and arms. Another restrained her lower legs. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice felt empty and nothing came out.

Glancing beyond the liquid she was in and the glass she was behind, she saw a... a laboratory. It was familiar and yet not so. There were advanced machines everywhere, with wires and screens, keyboards and controls, and all colors of lights blinking and shining. She could not remember why she was here or where here was. In fact, she really did not know who she was, except that she was her and nobody else. She could grasp at her name after some thought but it seemed foreign since she had no voice to say it aloud, so she let those thoughts slip away...

An overwhelming emptiness filled her and she wondered what should be there instead. Abstract thoughts of happiness and sadness, anger and laughter filled her mind, but what were these things? Did she experience them before? Was there a 'before'? Surely there had to be, or she would not have any sentient thoughts about such abstract ideas.

A shadow moved beyond the glass and she stopped thinking about abstractions and focused on trying to ascertain who or what was in the lab. It moved from screen to screen, pushing a button here, pulling a lever there. She heard a voice, murmuring outside the glass, but she could not figure out what it was saying. It sounded like a low voice though, possibly a man's. Her guess was confirmed when he stepped closer to the glass, peering inside at her. He was old, all of his hair was white and grey, and his skin was the color of dry leather... at least, she thought it was, the green and yellow of the liquid she was in could be tricking her eyes. Everything was tinted the color of glowing sickness.

The man was in a long white-tinted-yellow coat, probably a lab coat, so she assumed he was the owner of the laboratory. Surely he would get her out of this liquid. Surely he could explain to her who she was and what she was doing here. He tapped on the glass and smiled at her, but it was not a kind smile. What constituted a kind smile? He took a syringe and pulled a tube forward, injecting something into it. The girl watched as the syringe liquid slipped into her prison and left little blue clouds as it merged with the greens and yellows.

It did not take long for her to feel whatever it was in her system. Sharp pains began to shoot through her limbs like lightning. She arched against her restraints and tried to scream. No noise came out! She screamed quietly, or maybe she was screaming loudly! Did her ears work? Her throat felt like it was burning, so noise had to be coming out, right? She did not know, the pain was too unbearable to keep thinking. The man outside the glass watched her and she glared at him, wanting to shove the syringe in his skin so he could feel this horrible pain.

Why was this happening to her? What had she done?

Images flashed through her head, though she could make no sense of them. People, smiling and happy, gathered around her. White hair, blonde hair, and red hair. Blue eyes, blue eyes, happy and sad, glaring at her, angry. A different laboratory, had she always been someone's experiment? Or maybe she had done something horribly wrong, and this was her punishment. If only she could remember, remember more than just fragments.

The sun rising, the grass on fire with orange and red; the sun rises high and high, it keeps going until it disappears. More people, they seem the same but they are different. Guns, loud guns, shooting over and over. Screaming. Smiling faces. The sun is high over head. It's really hot, her arms feel like they are on fire. Why was this happening to her? A familiar voice, "You wanna go play?" Stairs, a pretty ornate staircase, spiraling, empty and then filled with dead bodies and blood.

Blood. It's everywhere. Dripping, in puddles, in her hair, on her skin. Blood, blood, what had she done?

She couldn't have done this... right? The screaming wouldn't stop.

Who's screaming? Who keeps screaming?


	12. Starting to Notice, I'm Turning Into a

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 12  
**Starting to Notice, I'm Turning Into a Softy**

12.3.2010

updated 7.4.11 / 11.2.11

Gokuh attacked Bardock viciously, and the older man figured he was enjoying it quite a bit, taking his aggression out on one of his captors. They had been training hard, and frankly Bardock was having trouble keeping up with his son. The only thing that kept him ahead was the lack of emotion and compassion he exhibited during a battle compared to Gokuh; but even his ruthlessness would not keep him ahead for long. He had approached Vegeta the day before about getting some higher classed warriors to put Gokuh and Callas against, but he had not received an answer just yet.

It had to be done. Bardock would not be able to keep up for longer, much as he hated to admit it. He felt a father's pride fill him and pushed it down. He had not told Gokuh in so many words that he was his father. He had a feeling Gokuh already knew and was merely not mentioning it. Why would he? His father and his race had taken him prisoner and left him to rot in a cell for months. If only he could understand...

Bardock blocked a punch and shoved his shoulder against Gokuh's open chest, shoving the man backwards. He punched him in the gut and sent him upwards, speeding up and slamming his fists into his upper back to shove him back down. Right before Gokuh hit the ground, he turned and landed on one knee, almost catching both his feet but hitting a knee on the ground instead. He looked up at Bardock and wiped some blood and sweat away from his face with a smirk.

"Nice one," Gokuh called. "You look a little more tired than I feel, though. How much longer do you think you can fend me off?"

Bardock quirked an eyebrow at him. His attitude was becoming snarkier, more aggressive, and he seemed quite a bit different than when they had taken him from Chikyuu. He supposed that sitting in a dungeon might have done a little to change it though. The older man flew down and touched the ground delicately, ready to defend if his trainee attacked him.

"How do you do it?" Bardock asked him.

"Do what?" Gokuh remained ready to defend, but relaxed his aggression.

"Become so powerful, so quickly. Even for a Saiyan, it's remarkable."

"I dunno," Gokuh answered honestly. "I have always been this way... I fight as necessary to defend those I care about. It doesn't matter to me about power, I guess. I just do what I know needs to be done." His face hardened. "And right now I need to become more powerful so I can help beat these Ice Lizards and protect the universe from them."

The older man smiled a little. "A nice attitude, I suppose. But not caring about power won't get you far in our world."

"I don't plan to go far, just do what needs to be done," he quipped.

Bardock did not comment. He was unsure he wanted to know what that meant, because he was afraid Gokuh and Callas would try to leave. They would never make it out alive if they did something stupid like that. At the moment, the less he knew, the safer they were. It seemed as if they were honestly in the war until the end, and that was what really mattered right now. The Saiyan race was dwindling in numbers and the massacres needed to stop.

Pushing his thoughts into nothingness, he obtained the blankness that helped him fight better and more accurately. With that done, Bardock shot towards Gokuh to continue the spar, who reacted the same and they met in the middle with a fury of punches, kicks, thrusts, slams, blocks and minimal ki blasts.

As with normal days, they sparred until the Second sun had almost replaced the First in the sky. When they broke away, they were both sweating with bits of blood here and there, though Bardock knew he was worse for wear than Gokuh. Still, it was great to spar like this! This was something he missed out on being in a cushy job as a Royal Guard. The guards did not seem to spar as furiously as warriors who went out onto the battlefield, which was a shame in Bardock's mind.

"Time to head back," Bardock said as they began their walk out of the gardens. Flying was never an option, as it would bring unwanted attention from scouters and voyeurs. As they walked side by side, the older man could not help but glance as casually as possible at his son. Yes, he was proud, and also amazed at the power Gokuh seemed to exhibit. The scientists had found nothing out of the ordinary in his blood or DNA, so what made him so special that his power could rise so fast and so much? All Saiyans had the ability to improve their power and skills when they lost a battle, and almost dying was the most effective way to double your power level, but Gokuh's abilities seemed far superior and he was fast gaining fans (and enemies) among those that knew about it.

Gokuh interrupted his thoughts to ask where Callas had been today. "Is she not training with us anymore?"

"She will be," Bardock answered vaguely.

The younger man eyed him a long moment before saying, "Is she alright?" There was a ferocity in his voice that Bardock had not heard before. It was painfully obvious that Gokuh cared too much about Callas.

"She's just tired," he answered.

"Oh," Gokuh raised his eyebrows. "And you guys give her a break? Well, I guess that's awfully nice of you."

"Yeah," Bardock forced a smile before warning Gokuh, "You should not be so attached to her. She's out of her league in this war. Actually, I am not sure it's smart of us to be bringing her, but... Well, anyway, you don't want to make the prince angry if you are too close with her. She is his property now."

Gokuh glared at the ground as they walked and Bardock could swear he felt the heat of anger and ki energy seeping off of him. "Callas isn't property," he growled softly. "Anyway, you like her too. I see how you are around her. Kinder, more protective." He glanced over at the man and saw the surprise and denial in his face. "I'm glad for her. Sure she not as powerful as us, and it's great that she has you to watch out for her... but she can take care of herself. She's always been strong. And fast." He smiled, lost in memories.

"Maybe stronger than Chiyuuans, but not Saiyans or the races we will be fighting in the war," Bardock replied.

Gokuh smiled, looking as if there was something else to say, but did not speak. By this time they had reached his living quarters, so Bardock left him to train more, eat, and rest. As Bardock walked away, he wondered what had not been said. Gokuh knew something about Callas, he was sure of it. Perhaps it had something to do with that strange power he sometimes felt from her and that strange look she often got in her eyes... it seemed to be happening more and more, ever since they started training her, ever since her ki bonds were powered down.

Maybe she really was about to pass a plateau. If so, that would be great. She would need everything available to her for defense in the war. As he walked the halls he made a last minute (S_tupid, _he thought to himself) decision to head towards the labs. He really did not have much business being there but he wanted to see that lavender-haired scientist again. As he approached the guard at the door, the Saiyan stopped him.

"What is your business here?"

"I need to speak with the Chikyuuan scientist, the one with lavender-colored hair, on request of the prince," Bardock lied smoothly. Inside he was a little nervous. If the prince found out he was sure to be in trouble, but ever since he had caught Bulma that night he had wanted to see her again. He was also a little worried about Callas. She had been extremely tired the past couple of days, and it did not seem normal for her, even for a weaker race such as hers. Maybe her sister would know something about it; she was extremely intelligent.

The guard eyed him suspiciously but knew him to be an adviser and Royal Guard to the Prince and the King, so he nodded and passed his key card over the scanner and typed a pass code in. The door unlocked and hissed open, allowing Bardock to pass through. Inside, the laboratories were buzzing with excitement. Servants were running here and there, getting the needed equipment the scientist's they were assigned; tech-bots were humming about their programmed work; and the scientists (mostly other enslaved races, with one or two Saiyans that Bardock could see) were hard at work developing, building, and experimenting with weapons. He had assumed it would be easy to find lavender hair but the different skin colors of the other races made it a tad more difficult. He stood at a loss until a tech-bot approached him.

"Do you require assistance?" the mechanical voice hummed at him.

"Yes, I am searching for Bulma. Bulma Briefs."

The blue light of the optical sensor turned red and bounced off one side to the other of his "eye" as he processed the information. His squat little body turned and hovered a moment before he said, "This way. She is currently working in the reactor room, experimenting with a project completed only moments ago, according to my database information." Off he went, hovering around people, stopping carefully for servants that were carrying delicate glasses and tubes.

Bardock followed, curious about the place. Why would people choose to be in such a strange environment? He did not understand the fascination with science and the delicacy of inventing strange and fascinating things. Still, he supposed it was a good thing, since the Saiyans managed to reap weapons from it all. Bardock still believed, as many Saiyans did, that the best weapon they had was there body, thus many scientists were searching for ways to safely and efficiently amplify the energy and power within an individual.

They entered a back hallway with a few doors, and the tech-bot stopped at the door labeled in Saiyan "Experiment Room 2." He said politely, "Here you are. Feel free to enter, but be careful as experiments are in process and this room has a reactor core. You never know what might get set off. Have a good day." And he whirred off to his next job.

Bardock stood at the door, feeling his stomach flip with nervousness. And then he cursed himself for being stupid, opened the door, and walked inside. There she was, standing at a table with a Saiyan sitting next to her. It was a very young male Saiyan, just old enough to go to battle and too young to die in it. She had a strange contraption on his head and was tinkering with it as he stared a little nervously at her. Bardock watched the boy's tail flutter back and forth with arousal at the close proximity of a female. Jealously tried to claw its way up the older Saiyan's throat, but he managed to control himself, mostly out of regard for how idiotic he was acting, and cleared his throat rather than growl at the two.

Bulma almost dropped the tool she was using and jumped back away from the young Saiyan, as if she had already been on edge around him. Bardock did not blame her, being alone with one of her captors and having to experiment on him. He smiled disarmingly at the two, though the younger Saiyan merely stared at him.

"Oh," Bulma said. "You startled me." She stared at him, recognition plain on her face. "I, uh, don't think you ever told me your name." She composed herself, brushed at her lab coat and went back to the younger Saiyan, pushing his face to its previous position, with his back to Bardock and the door.

As Bardock started talking, she resumed her tinkering of the gadget on the boy's head. "Bardock," he answered. "What are you working on?"

She glanced at him wryly and asked, "Is that why you are here? To bug me while I work?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Of course not."

"Oh, don't get bent out of shape," she chuckled. "I was just kidding."

The younger Saiyan finally spoke, though it was in their native language and Bardock could tell the scientist took a moment to filter his words and understand them, "She jokes a lot, supposedly. I don't think some of her angrier outbursts are quite as joking as she tries to make them out to be."

Bulma pushed a little harder on his head than she needed to and he cringed, shooting her an unhappy look. "Hush, you. I have a sense of humor you know. Just because your race is so serious, doesn't mean I have to be. I'd go crazy!"

The boy huffed and said, "Bardock, huh? Not many guards make their way down to the labs. I guess it is different being a Royal Adviser, too?" It was a challenge; why was he here?

Bardock moved closer to the two so he could see what Bulma was doing. "The prince asked me to check up on your latest invention, Bulma," he answered, but to the woman and not the boy. This agitated the boy, and Bardock had to keep from flicking his tail in pleasure. "And who are you?" he asked him.

"Riktor," the young boy answered in a low growl.

"You prefer to be an experiment rather than a warrior?" Bardock taunted.

"No," he huffed, but did not explain any further.

Bulma, who had been following their conversation as fast as she could, managed to answer in her choppy Saiyan, "He is being punished, I think. For not listening to his elders... I think."

Bardock sneered. "I can see that. Missing out on all the glory now, boy."

Riktor grumbled. "Yeah, well... I learned my lesson." He glanced at Bardock who had made his way in front of the young Saiyan. "Could you tell my battalion general that? I'd like to get back to training..." He looked down, defeated. "This is so boring."

Bulma tapped a circuit that shocked the boy, causing him to yelp and flinch. "Hey!" She snickered and said, "It's not that boring. And besides, if this works, you Saiyans will be thanking me and my genius."

Bardock smirked a little before asking, "Who is your general?"

"Radditz," the boy answered.

The older Saiyan perked thoughtfully and nodded. "I will let him know." Bardock had heard of his oldest sons recent promotion to battalion general, and even though it is over the weakest of the third-class, it was still a prized accomplishment. He turned back to Bulma, "So... what is this exactly and how successful is it?"

The scientist put her tool down, pushed a stray lavender strand out of her face, and pulled the gadget off the boys head after unhooking some suction-trodes off his temples. "Alright, you are done for now. Thanks, Riktor." The young Saiyan nodded and trudged out. Once the door was shut behind him, she looked hard at Bardock. "Prince Vegeta was here earlier asking about this. And generally he doesn't send his guards and _Royal Advisers_ to get information. What are you really doing here?" She crossed her arms, eying him like a mother might to a child in trouble.

Bardock huffed out a laugh and looked down, licking his lips and wishing he could say, "I wanted to see you again." He was hard-up for a female, but so were most other men on this planet, unfortunately. His duty and position would never allow something like this, nor would his race. as mixing blood was against the law. A relationship, beyond bedding a whore for fun, with another race was generally unheard of and not accepted by society. Most half-Saiyans were killed at birth. Only those that showed great potential were allowed to live, and they would never rise to any position of power. They were often servants or lowly warriors sent to battle to die; some were even used as pleasure slaves since the lack of female Saiyans was a huge issue. Even in half-Saiyans, mostly boys were born.

When he looked up at Bulma, he said, "Callas has been tired lately."

She quirked her eyebrow at him. "And? She's used as a pleasure slave and worked day and night, I'm sure. Why would she not be tired? I'm tired!"

"No," he said carefully. "Unnaturally tired. She has a hard time staying awake and has for the past few days. I was wondering if there was some sort of... medical condition that Chikyuuans might be susceptible to? Or something that might be wrong with Callas that has happened to her before? She needs to be healthy, for the prince and the war."

Bulma's brow furrowed with worry and thought. "No... I mean, there are specific types of medical conditions from our people that it could be, but many of them are genetic and as far as I know our family had none of these disorders." A hesitation in her made Bardock worry, but she continued, "I am not really a medical doctor, Bardock. I am a scientist, and I specialize in technological advances and inventions. If she is sick, you should take her to the medical bay."

"So this has never happened to her before?" he asked.

"Not to my knowledge."

He stared at her pretty blue eyes and said, "She keeps refusing the medical bay. I thought at first she just needed rest, because we've been driving her hard during training. But the whole thing seems strange and unnatural, and when I check on her she seems to be sleeping fitfully."

"You should probably be nicer to her then," Bulma frowned. "And force her to go to the medical bay. Kami, her and Gokuh... Neither of them like doctors." She shook her head.

Bardock smiled a little, switching subjects. "You don't ever get let out of here, do you?"

Bulma barked a laugh. "No, of course not. I think I'm dying without the sun too. My skin is so pale!" She seemed a little bitter at this. "You know, if your leaders were smart they would give us a tiny bit of freedom. Fear is a great way to convince people to do what you want, but if you don't keep your workers happy, the work suffers. I think I can speak for us all when I say we are going a little stir crazy."

He contemplated what she said and after a few moments of silence, where she was fiddling with the gadget in her hand, he said, "Alright."

She looked up at him. "Alright, what?"

"I'll let him know that you want to go outside."

Bulma gave him a wary look. "No... don't go get getting me in trouble."

"It's a perfectly valid consideration. It's unhealthy to stay cooped up in a..." he eyed the room they were in, searching for a word, "sterile, white environment. And if you and your cohorts will be more comfortable and productive because of it, your request should not go unheeded."

"Cohorts... heh." The woman stared at him mostly disbelief, but slowly a genuine smile of appreciate spread across her face. She half-sobbed when she said, "Wow... thank you. It's been so long since anyone has... even started to treat me as more than just a machine."

Bardock felt himself close off at this response. He shouldn't be so kind and doting to slaves, even scientists. Suddenly he was unsure of bringing this to anyone, but he had just promised to do so, and he would honor his word. He found it strange that he seemed to care so much for these two sisters. It was not an unpleasant feeling, actually, merely foreign to him. To let others know, however, would be his downfall for they would most certainly see it as a weakness. Part of himself saw it as a weakness.

"I must go. Continue with that...whatever it is," he gestured at her invention and turned to leave, but a hand on his arm stopped him. She was so small, so soft and warm. He could smell her and he fought the arousal away.

"Thank you, Bardock," she said quietly. Then with a laugh she added, "By the way, it's supposed to be a power amplifier. I've been trying to figure it out for a month now."

He interrupted her and said, "Well, if anyone can do it, I'm sure you can. I hear that you are the smartest one around here." He pulled his arm from her and walked out the door, stopping only to add, "The most stubborn one, too." He left her with a playful smile on her lips and hoped he could get the image of her soft warm hand on his arm out of his head before he found some time to speak with the king.


	13. I'll Do My Best to Take Care of You

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 13  
**I'll Do My Best to Take Care of You**

12.15.2010

updated 7.4.11

Callas woke up feeling lousy. The bell was chiming, indicating it was some special time of the day, but she did not pay enough attention to figure out what time. Her head was killing her and her mouth was dry as a desert. She smacked her lips a few times, trying to get some saliva built up, but it did not work. She would need to get up and go to the bathroom, drink from the tap. She pushed her body up with her arms and sat there for a moment, letting the spinning of her head ease, before she slowly slid out of the bed she did not remember getting into.

"What day is it?" she murmured... croaked would probably be a better word for it, actually. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on her couch in the main room. Sighing, she wobbled to the bedroom door and pressed the button, wincing at the hiss as it opened. Bardock was in the room and he jumped up at the sight of her, heading over to her immediately.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. "You look terrible."

"I feel terrible," she croaked. Yes, that was definitely the word for her voice right now. She cracked a smile at herself and stumbled forward a few times. He caught her arm and helped her to the bathroom.

"I think you need to go to the medical bay. I've been trying to decide whether to take you or not," he told her.

"Not," Callas replied, shaking her head slowly. "I'll be fine."

"I am pretty certain you are ill."

"Maybe I should sneeze on you and get you sick," she groaned and hobbled forward to the sink, pressing the button for water and putting her lips to the faucet as it poured out.

"I highly doubt your contagion will do anything to my system," Bardock replied.

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled, drinking some more. After her throat was sated, she let her head hang in the stone bowl sink and sighed. She was so tired. Her hair slid forward and started to get wet and Bardock reached forward to turn the water off.

"Alright, I'm taking you to the medical bay," he said shortly, grabbing her up and carrying her in his arms. He looked down at her and saw her face scrunch stubbornly but she said nothing. "No arguments," he said to her anyway. He wondered what could possibly be wrong with her. She could not have a human virus, unless it travels inside them and attacks at random. If it was something alien, it was something to worry about affecting all their human slaves on Planet Vegeta because it meant she contracted it by some means here. Or, Bardock thought, she could have contracted it from something Vegeta brought back with him... in which case it could spread to all the other non-Saiyan races if it isn't caught.

When he reached the medical bay, she had passed out again. The place was busy with battle wounds and training wounds from warriors and servants alike. Some slaves were there too. All the slaves and servants were huddled in one area and being ignored while all the warriors were either being tended to or grabbing a doctor to demand attention. Bardock searched for a free doctor and when he found one he snarled at him, "You need to tend to this slave."

The doctor eyed the girl and said, "Slaves will be tended to after warriors. You know the drill. Set her on a free table."

"This slave is different. Tend to her now," he demanded in a low growl.

The doctor tsked at him. "Getting attached to your slave is not a reason for me to overlook protocol."

Bardock smiled wickedly at the man. "This is Prince Vegeta's favorite slave." The need to say more was unnecessary as he watched the Saiyan in front of him pale visibly.

"Oh, uh, why didn't you say so?" He glanced around and gestured them towards an empty area. It was dirty, with bloodied rags everywhere and unwashed tools. "Over here. This will have to do. The last unsuccessful battle has left us in a tizzy."

Bardock glanced around at the mess and nodded. He could understand. The casualties were too much in this last battle. The Ice Lizards had the upper hand. And now the woman he had dreamed about was sick. He could only hope she was not dying. What a way for Fate to fool him, then, hm?

The doctor felt for her pulse, listened to her breathing, took her blood pressure, and used a scanner to check her vital organs. After the initial check-up, he asked Bardock as he felt along the girl's body for any irregularities, "What is wrong with her? What are her symptoms?"

"She's been tired," Bardock offered with a helpless gesture. The doctor eyed him coldly but Bardock ignored it and continued, "She can't stay awake. She hasn't eaten in days. She woke up long enough about 10 minutes ago to drink a lot of water, so I would guess she is probably dehydrated, too."

"I'll make the diagnosis, thank you, warrior." The doctor reached behind him and pulled out a syringe. He made sure it was clean, muttering something about how other races immune systems were so faulty, and shoved it into Callas's arm, drawing blood from her. "Nothing physical that I can tell, although we have never had a human in here before. They all die too fast to really fall prey to illness. Anyway, I'll run some tests. We have data pulled from their home planet on normal human health status. For now, find an empty waiting area in the northern part of the medical bay... if you can."

He walked off with the blood, leaving Bardock to scoop Callas up and search for a place to wait. After several minutes of looking in cubby after cubby, Bardock found a good corner to sit in and wait. He decided to just hold the girl since this place was overfull. He was not sure how much time went by but he was starting to wonder if he should go find the doctor himself. He decided to wait a little longer, though glancing down at Callas almost changed his mind. Had she always been this pale? Her skin was glistening with sickly sweat. He had never seen anyone sick up close before. He sniffed her and smelled it all over her. How could he have let it go this long? He was supposed to protect her.

The prince would be angry. He was angry with himself.

"Warrior, I have the human's test results," a voice called. Bardock's head shot up to find the doctor standing in the doorway not too far from them. He had been caught staring at Callas; he wondered what the doctor thought. It did not matter. The results mattered. He stood up with Callas in his arms and followed the doctor. They went to a computer that had a flat screen on the wall showing red, bubbly looking things. All around them were tiny black spiky bubbles that seemed to slowly but effectively latch onto the red ones and cover them until one large black one remained.

"I have no idea what I am looking at but it looks unpleasant for her," Bardock muttered.

"It is merely an illness that attacks her immune system, but see here these white blood cells come in and attack back. My guess is that she is fighting off the sickness and should be fine after some rest," The doctor said.

"Your guess? Does that mean you don't really know?"

The doctor gave him a tired look. Bardock could guess he had not slept in a while, but it gave him no excuse to not try for the Prince's slave. "It means," he said frankly, "that I'm not sure and I have never treated a human before today. It looks like her body is fighting it and she should be fine. I brought a booster of vitamins that human doctors have shared with us to keep slaves healthy and I will give it to her. Beyond that without analyzing the sickness further, which I do not have time for, and finding out where it came from, I cannot help her."

Bardock glared at the man but nodded. "Fine, give her the vitamins. If it helps, great. If she gets worse, I'll inform the prince that you did what you could." The guard glanced around the medical bay as he spoke and grimaced at all the hurt and dying warriors. "Considering the circumstances."

The doctor nodded back, tired, grateful, and gave Callas the shot. "If her condition worsens, bring her back. For the Prince, I will make time to study the illness and send it to human doctors. Perhaps they will have an antibiotic to fight it."

Callas did not respond to the needle in her arm and remained unconscious as Bardock took her back to her room. Once inside he lay her on the plush daybed in the front room and looked at her. She smelled of days spent in bed, in sweat, in sickness, and he wondered if a bath would help her feel better. A small part of him took a millisecond to consider bathing her himself but his chivalry won out quickly and he went to the com system to call for a female slave. As his finger hovered over the button he thought about how her sister could clean her and he smiled, pressing a different button instead of the servant call center button. This way he could see the lavender-haired female again, and even though she already said she could not be sure about Callas's illness, she might be able to figure something out that a Saiyan doctor could not.

The line connected to the labs and a Saiyan scientist answered, seeming a bit annoyed at the interruption. "What?"

"The prince has requested that Bulma Briefs come to his chambers at once," Bardock lied smoothly.

The Saiyan poked his thin nose closer to the screen and looked around. "That's not the prince's chambers. And who are you, anyway? Why are you bothering us? We're busy."

Bardock told him who he was and said, "I will be to the labs shortly to escort her there, I only wished to let you know so the human could be ready."

The scientist pursed his lips and glanced to his side. "I suppose she has a few minutes to spare," he murmured before glaring back at Bardock on the screen. "But if the prince decides to ruin one of our top scientists it will be the weapons and advances that pay, just remind him of that!" The man barked the last part at him before flipping off his side of the communications link.

Bardock shook his head and glanced back at Callas before heading out the door. He would hurry over to catch Bulma out of the labs and then hurry her back here. No one would be any the wiser, and if anyone asked, he would deal with it. On the way over he passed a few human warriors that were going to train for the war. One of them greeted him in a friendly manner but he ignored the man and continued on his way.

"That was strange," he mumbled to himself. "Did he have something on his forehead?" Bardock was confused as to why that human seemed to be on friendly terms with him. He had never seen him before. He shook it off and continued on his way, glancing back uncertainly a few times.

When he reached the labs, Bulma was being escorted out. "I'll take her from here," he told the men. She looked at him curiously but made no move to act as if she had seen him before, which he appreciated. The two guards shrugged at him and went back to their own work.


	14. Not a Bad Punishment At All

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 14  
**Not a Bad Punishment At All**

7.4.2011

updated 11.2.11

Bardock waited in the main room as Bulma bathed her sister. Callas was conscious, thankfully, but delirious. The older Saiyan was beginning to get extremely worried about the situation. The Prince had been busy with Nappa and other royal duties the past few days, enough so that he had left Callas alone. But any day now he could return and want to see her. There was no way she was up to pleasing the Prince, and if he decided to blame Bardock for not taking care of her, things could get bad.

Not to mention Callas needed to be healthy for training and the war.

The sound of water and female murmuring reached his ears. He listened in abstractly, trying to distract his thoughts, and heard Bulma talking to her sister about their past. Curious, Bardock edged closer to the door.

"I remember," Bulma began, "Right when we first got you back." Water splashed over an obstacle and rippled into the water. "You were really sick then too."

"Wha—?" Callas voice droned lazily. She sounded as if she might be drunk, her voice thick with exhaustion.

"You won't remember it," Bulma said so quietly that Bardock wondered if it was meant to be heard. "I remember you were like this. So exhausted, symptoms of a flu-like virus. Father took care of you; ran tests to make sure you were okay. All he would tell me was you needed rest. I wish I knew more about it, if this is something that is going to happen to you more often then maybe I could come up with a vaccination for it." A frustrated sigh sounded as more water splashed around. "If only I had access to all of Father's old files. Here, stand up." A strained grunt emitted from both women and Bardock heard feet hit the stone tub in a clumsy fashion.

"Bardock?" Bulma's voice called loudly, almost making him wince. He waited a few seconds before opening the door and walking in.

"Yes?"

If Callas had not been so ill, the situation before him might seem more comical. Bulma was struggling to keep her sister upright, who was leaning all her weight against the woman, legs bent inwards, dark red hair plastered all over her naked body.

"Sorry to bother you, but I am not strong enough to lift her out and get her dried safely. She's quite heavy dead-weight." Bulma tried to smile but the strain she was in only made her grimace.

Bardock immediately grabbed a long fluffy towel, black as preferred by the Prince to hide any blood, and moved forward. He wrapped the towel around Callas midsection and lifted her with easy out of the lavender-haired woman's arms. "Where would you like her?"

"On that couch in the front room, is fine. Or is it a futon?" She grabbed another towel as she followed, mostly talking to herself. After Bardock set Callas down on the daybed, he turned his back and let Bulma dry her off. Bulma watched him from behind and said, "You are quite the gentleman. For a Saiyan."

Bardock stared at the closed door and smirked. "She belongs to the Prince. That is all."

"Right," Bulma smiled quietly.

After a few moments, he heard Bulma walking away. He turned to look and saw her going into Callas's bedroom. She noticed his wary expression and said, "I'm getting her some clothes. Is that alright?"

With his approving nod, the woman disappeared into the room and he heard her make her way to the closet, shuffling through outfits. Bardock looked down at Callas and saw a towel modestly placed over her sleeping form. He inched closer, watching her face as she breathed slowly, in and out. Damp hair plastered around her face and he reached out to move it when Bulma's voice startled him, causing him to jump back a step.

"I guess this will have to do. Everything in there is slutty or looks uncomfortable."

Bardock swallowed and eyed the outfit. "Well," he said, clearing his throat, "What do you expect of a pleasure slave?" The chosen outfit was simple, thin black cloth, translucent from the looks of it, with a deep neck and a long trailing bottom in the back. There were no sleeves and it fastened in the front with two simple cloth loops that hooked around a small button. Easy on and off.

"It seemed the softest and easiest to get on," Bulma said with mild disgust. She reached down for the towel, and Bardock turned back around. "Callas, I need you to wake back up for a bit." He heard skin slapping skin softly, as Bulma patted her sister's cheek to wake her up. The sound of the lock panel having a code keyed in barely registered the Saiyan's hearing as he turned his attention back to the door in time to hear it unlock and hiss open.

Bardock cursed to himself as the Saiyan Prince walked in and stopped, the door hissing shut and locking automatically behind him. The look on his face was distracted shock turned to irritation and fury as he looked from Bardock to Bulma to Callas and then back. Bardock felt his stomach sink with dread. This was very bad.

"My lord," Bardock began but was interrupted by Prince Vegeta, "What in the name of the Moon is _she_ doing here?" he jerked his gaze towards the scientist who had stopped what she was doing and was hunkered down on the daybed near Callas, as if trying to hide.

"I brought her up to bathe Callas," Bardock began again.

"And why can't she bathe herself?" Vegeta snapped.

"My lord, she is sick."

"What?" Vegeta's eyes narrowed at Bardock before he strode over to Callas and looked down at her. Distaste filtered across his features as he sneered, "And a normal servant couldn't bathe her? You had to bring a scientist that should be working in the lab as we speak?"

Bardock swallowed for a moment, trying to think.

Bulma chose that stupid moment to speak. "I asked to see her, Prince."

"Silence, woman!" Vegeta roared at her. Thankfully she lowered her eyes with a whimper and said no more. "Are you getting soft, Bardock? Ignoring protocol and rules to let your ward do what she wants, see her sister? Just because she is sick?"

"No, my lord," Bardock choked out. Then an idea came to him. "I brought her here to help figure out what was wrong."

"A medical bay can do that," Vegeta said in an icy voice.

"The doctors there had no idea what was wrong with her, my prince. I tried. And they were too busy with Saiyans to do anything."

The prince nodded. That made perfect sense. A slave would be ignored if a Saiyan needed treatment. Of course. Bardock felt hope rising in his throat. This could work.

"I brought the scientist Bulma here because she is her sister. She said something like this has happened with Callas before." He glanced back at Bulma who glared at him. She knew he had been eavesdropping now. Still, the human should know better by now than to say things out loud around a Saiyan if it was meant to stay a secret.

"Oh?" Vegeta prodded, glancing over at Bulma. "So you know how to fix her then?"

Bulma swallowed a few times before she managed to spit any words out. "W-well, she isn't a machine to just fix... your highness." The glared from him sped her up and she continued, "All I said was that I remembered this happening to her before. But my father was the one that helped her. All the files and information were with him, in Capsule Corp... before it was destroyed. I have none of it now and would have no idea where to start on helping her."

Silence followed and Bardock was beginning to worry that the Prince was in a mood and might kill them all. _Damnit, I messed this up. I should never have brought her up here._

Finally Vegeta let out a sigh and said, "Capsule Corporation. It was not destroyed."

"What? It... it wasn't?" The hope and light in Bulma's eyes was hard to watch. Bardock had known about this. It was something he had never told Callas. He let her continue believing her home had been eradicated.

"We destroyed much of your old Chikyuu, that is true," Vegeta said nonchalantly, "But not Capsule Corporation. It has been a delightful help with all the technology and plans your Father had. In fact, we had employed his help up until his last days." Bulma looked down at this bit of information but said nothing, so the Prince continued. "Many weapons and advances came from him. We have packed up everything from Capsule Corporation, all the computers and information, and brought it back here. It was our plan to employ you in the department of human technology as the head, for ease of translation."

"So... so you have everything my father ever worked on? Here? On Planet Vegetsei?" Bulma's voice was incredulous. "For how long?"

"Only a few days."

"When were you planning on telling me?" she demanded, fire sparking in her eyes. Bardock glared at her, trying to make her see how stupid it was to act that way in front of Prince Vegeta.

"It is our business what what we tell our slaves," Vegeta snarled viciously at her, and though Bulma obviously did not want to, she backed down, lowering her eyes. The Saiyan then glared angrily at Bardock and said, "It came to our attention that you were unhappy being locked up, and my father thought it might be prudent to give you a familiar setting to work in."

Bardock looked at the prince in mild disbelief. They had listened to him? So quickly. The war must really be going badly for them to cater to a human scientist, even if she was as intelligent as they say. Bulma too seemed in a state of shock over the information.

"You are to be moved, along with your pick of a few scientists, to a different wing of the labs. It is off-limits to anyone and everyone but the King and myself, and anyone we might send down there." He eyed Bardock, though anger was still very evident in the dark eyes. "You will have slaves that are your own and tech-bots. It will be the ideal situation to work from, and you should be even more productive than before. There is also a large ground balcony, and though I feel it is foolish to cater to your whims, you will be allowed to go outside. There will always be guards on duty, though, so don't get any stupid ideas."

"Wow, thank you," Bulma said fervently. "Thank you so much, Prince."

"Don't be stupid," he snapped at her, then looked down at Callas. "Your first priority is to figure out what is wrong with her and fix it. I will be unhappy if I lose my favorite plaything." He smiled wickedly at her, watching as she bit her tongue over the comment. Instead she merely nodded her head in agreement. "Good. Finish dressing her. Bardock, come here."

Bardock followed his prince over to the other side of the room, expecting a harsh reprimand. The prince snarled quietly at him, tail lashing back and forth. "This was extremely stupid, and my first reaction is to remove you from contact with both of these women."

"As you wish, my lord," Bardock bowed his head, but the Prince smacked him across the face causing Bulma to wince and stare at them for a moment before going back to caring for Callas. Vegeta continued speaking, "However, I will not. You did react only to keep my slave alive, and for that... you will remain her protectorate. Nobody else would have done the same. Nobody else knows how important she is to this war. Not even I, I believe."

Bardock did not touch his throbbing face. The punishment was nothing compared to what he thought he would receive. Suddenly, he realized just how much the Prince and the King must trust him. A lesser man, most other Saiyans, would have began plotting how to use this power of trust over their rulers, but Bardock was loyal, and he would remain so. He felt pride at this trust. "I was only doing what I thought was best, my lord."

"Silence," Vegeta snapped quietly. "I trust your visions are the same."

Bardock nodded. "Still it is the red-haired warrioress that brings us victory. Still I am not shown when or how she does it. I was worried she might die from this sickness. The medical bay doctor I spoke with gave her a booster of vitamins, saying that many humans benefit from those. Perhaps her sister will come up with something to help her from the files we retrieved from Chikyuu."

Vegeta nodded. "You will take the woman back to the labs. Her new quarters will not be ready for a few days, but we will give her access to the files she will need. When you are done, return here and keep watch over the slave." He looked over at Callas, who was being re-situated nervously on the daybed by Bulma. "I will expect to be kept updated on this situation. She must be better soon. The warriors need to see her up and around, healthy, ready to fight for them. Many are finding it hard to believe that a human is a good luck charm for us."

"Of course, my lord. They will come around." Bardock bowed, then called to Bulma. "Slave, come." He took his leave of the Prince and walked Bulma back to the labs.

Once they were several hallways away from Callas's room, Bulma suddenly stopped and glared at him. "You were eavesdropping on me!"

"Keep walking and keep your voice down," Bardock advised, grabbing her forearm and pulling her with him. She tried to resist but he was stronger, so she settled back into walking and whispered ferociously at him.

"I can't believe it, and after I called you gentlemanly!"

"Bulma, you are a slave. And you were talking in a quiet room. I have extremely good hearing. You should already know this. There is no reason for me to feel guilt for this. Besides, my eavesdropping," he sneered, "saved our asses. That could have gone much worse in there."

Bulma nodded. "I expected far worse from the Prince of Saiyans who supposedly has a bad temper."

"Be glad you didn't see worse," Bardock snapped. "The war is taking a lot out of everyone, and a misplaced slave is the least of his worries. Besides, it seems they like you enough to treat you to your own lab."

Bulma grinned at this and sighed. "Yeah. I am so glad. I was getting worried about those horny guards. The looks I was getting only got worse." She looked up at him silently for a moment and whispered, "The King and Prince really listen to you."

"I give then no reason not to," he replied practically.

"It's nice to have someone like you around," Bulma said softly. "I'm glad we met."

Bardock grinned. "You are just glad I am the one that caught you that night instead of some other guard."

"Well, yeah, of course," came Bulma's flippant remark. She pulled at him again and he stopped to look at her. Then Bardock was caught off guard with her hand on his cheek and soft lips pressing against his. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around her and kissed back hungrily, consuming the soft warmth of her mouth and breathing in her sweet taste. And as suddenly as it started, he stopped it, quickly pushing her away from him and cornering her against the nearest wall.

"That was stupid," he growled in a rough voice.

"I-I'm sorry," she squeaked, though offered no explanation otherwise.

Bardock calmed his arousal, clenched his jaw and pushed her in front of him. "Walk."

She turned to look at him and said again, "I'm sorry, Bardock."

"Just walk," he snapped. "You are not a pleasure slave. You are a scientist and off-limits. Are you trying to get us into more trouble? Stupid woman." His anger filled him. Anger at not being able to have her; anger at her tempting him like that; anger at situations spiraling out of his control, one after another. First Callas's sickness and now her kiss, baiting him like a hungry beast chained down with food dangling inches from its maw. "Stupid, stupid woman."

He heard her breath hitch and he could tell she was fuming angrily in front of him (no doubt at being called stupid), but she said nothing and made no other noise. When they rounded the corner to the labs, he handed her off to the guard and left without another word to her. He could not go back to the prince just yet. He would not go back to Callas just yet, being left alone with a beautiful woman all night and no way to have her.

Bardock stalked into the pleasure quarters, found an unoccupied room, and woke the pleasure slave within. It was a human female; perfect. He took out his anger and frustrations on her before he returned to a freshly showered Prince Vegeta, who merely looked at him with slight amusement before leaving him with his ward.


	15. Old Friends Are Not the Same

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 15  
**Old Friends Are Not the Same**

7.4.2011

updated 11.2.11

Gokuh leaned back on his bed. It was not the most comfortable of beds, but it beat a dungeon wall, that was for sure. He popped a Chikyuuan grape into his mouth, and bit down, pleased to taste the juices as they erupted in his mouth. It was like a delicacy when the Saiyans served Chikyuuan food, especially the fruits. He had missed all the tastes. Saiyan food was good, but it was all meat, and while he loved meat, he missed the sweet and tart tastes varieties offered on his old home planet.

Luckily, the Saiyans seemed to develop a taste for much of Chikyuuan food. Quite often he heard from other training Saiyans and spar partners that the best thing to come from Chikyuu was the food, women, and entertainment, in that order. Apparently, music had become quite popular among Saiyan culture. Gokuh preferred the quiet of nature himself, but it pleased him in a strange way to know that the Saiyans took something positive from his culture rather than just completely eradicating it from the universe.

Soon Gokuh would need to get out of bed and get ready to train with Bardock. He wondered if Callas would be back today; she had been absent from their training sessions for a week now, and though his Saiyan father shrugged off all attempts for information on her, Gokuh knew something was up. If she was sick, surely the medical bay would have helped her by now. A knock at his door interrupted his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Gokuh," the voice said before opening the door and entering. "Good, you're awake."

"Tien, how are you today?" Gokuh smiled. He had never expected, not in a million years, to find his friend Tien Shinhan training to fight in the war with the Saiyans. In fact, he had expected all of his friends to be dead. He remembered his first day in the high security quarters.

/

_"Great, another one," the first guy said. He had every aspect of a Saiyan up to the brown furry tail but his skin was tinted-green and his teeth seemed a bit sharper than normal._

_The second guy was an alien that Gokuh had no idea about. His skin was scaley and purple with green rings patterned across it and eyes that bulged in different directions. He was the shortest of the bunch. His head was large and curved over like an animal that used to walk on four legs and now walks on two. It was a strange sight to see, but he seemed nice enough. At least Gokuh thought he was smiling at him, the way his scaled mouth curved up. "Oh, ignore Kelder. He's just bitter... all the time. Who are you?"_

_The third guy moved from behind Kelder at that time and stared at the newcomer in shock. "Gokuh?" he said in disbelief._

"_Gokuh?"_ The voice was very familiar, in fact._. The man had a third eye on his forehead, open wide with disbelief._

"_Tien?" Gokuh exclaimed, stepping forward. "I can't believe it! It IS you! You're alive!"_

_Tien approached his friend and hugged him tight. "As are you! I heard you were rotting away in the dungeon, too proud to fight with the Saiyans." There was no judgment in his voice, no anger, just simple information._

"_I agreed to the Prince's terms," Gokuh nodded. The other two roommates walked into the room and found themselves a seat on the couches and proceeded to listen in on the conversation._

"_Good, I'm glad," Tien said. He shrugged at the tightness in Gokuh's eyes. "It's better to die fighting than die from dungeon rot. Besides, it isn't all bad working for the Saiyans. Not much else we can do anyway, right?"_

_Gokuh frowned, but nodded. "Yeah."_

_Kelder interjected. "So you are the famous Gokuh, huh? You don't look like much." _

_The strange alien cleared his throat, a strange coughing-growl like sound, and repeated, "Like I said. Ignore Kelder. He's bitter because he's half-Saiyan and treated like one." The alien's voice was nasally and scratchy all at once, mostly unpleasant to listen to actually. "So, Gokuh! Well, my name is unpronounceable in other languages but my home language, so I have been dubbed Ripscale."_

"_Really? What an odd name," Gokuh commented without thinking._

_Ripscale made a noise that sounded like chuckling and Tien responded, "Well, he says that is the closest to what his name means in the Saiyan language."_

"_I was named for my particular fighting technique among my people," Ripscale nodded happily._

"_You... ripped the scales off of your enemies?" Gokuh guessed, half-joking._

"_Yes, yes. It was uncommon but very effective. Our scales are some of the hardest natural armor in my planet's solar system. So rip off the armor and all that is left is tender meat to rip out. Your opponent dies quickly after that."_

_Gokuh blinked, feeling a little nauseous. He was surrounded by murderers; had Tien become one? Tien had been on the wrong side of good once upon a time. He supposed he might have to become one to get through this too. It made him unbearably sad._

_Tien clapped Gokuh on the back and lead him to a couch to sit. "Ripscale is what the Saiyans call a Halezard. They were kept as slave warriors."_

"_Those that wanted glory," Ripscale confided. "The rest were left to work mines. We are a very sturdy race."_

"_Ah," Gokuh nodded. "Tien, how did you get here?"_

"_Well, I was taken captive along with you and the others. Yamucha and Krillan were left for dead, as far as I know. I saw nothing of Piccolo, either."_

"_I see," Gokuh said as the door unlocked and opened. Servants came in, piling tray after tray of food on the big table near the door. They left as quickly as they came and immediately the others began to move towards the food._

"_You better grab some while you can," Tien said. "Kelder's appetite is just like yours."_

_Gokuh hurried over, his own stomach grumbling at the smell of food. He stuffed food into his face and said, "Well, I'm glad you're here, Tien."_

"_Me too, buddy. Me too."_

/

"Tired. Ready to get into this war and finish it." Tien looked at Gokuh expectantly before saying, "I don't suppose you heard about Bulma, did you?"

"No," Gokuh felt dread like a bottomless pit in his stomach. "What about her? Is she okay?"

Tien smiled, though over the past week Gokuh noticed that his smile was emptier than it used to be on Chikyuu. Gokuh attributed that to the loss of Chiaotzu, something that Tien refused to speak about. "Oh, she is great. Apparently she is such a genius scientist that she was promoted to her own laboratory with her own team to work with. The Saiyans really like her work."

Relief washed over Gokuh and she sighed. "Why wouldn't they? I've noticed her incorporation of capsules into Saiyan life already." He smiled. "I'm happy for her though. At least she can live safely here."

"Until they have no more use for her." Tien's face tightened.

"I doubt Bulma will run out of genius," Gokuh replied. Tien nodded but said nothing more about it. "Have you heard anything about Callas?" Gokuh asked tentatively.

Tien shook his head. "Sorry, bro. Nada, and all the Saiyans are anxious to get a look at her. They wonder if the Prince killed her. It's crazy, isn't it? How they believe _her_ of all people to be a good luck charm?"

Gokuh furrowed his brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He blinked. "Nothing, really. Just that... well, she's not even a Saiyan. Why would they look to her for luck in a war that has nothing to do with humans?"

"I think everyone is asking that question," a bitter voice interjected and Kelder pushed the door open. Gokuh quickly stood, muscles on edge. Kelder had not warmed up to him in the past couple weeks and though he had never tried to physically attack him, the full-blooded Saiyan was not taking any chances. Kelder chuckled a little but cut it short and said, "I think they are all so desperate to cling to something that a symbol the King and Prince believe in works for them. I think it's stupid, to put so much faith in a weak human female. Many of us think that. In fact, the moment they put her out on a battlefield, we might just make sure she dies a horrible death for such stupid blasphemy against the Saiyan race."

Gokuh clenched his fists and growled, "You will stay away from her, or..."

"Or what? You'll teach me a lesson?" Kelder snickered. "Right. You're worse off than me. Full Saiyan with no regard for his race's culture or history. Swooning over a weak human whore. It's not just me that threatens her existence. Many Saiyans think the King is going crazy with desperation to win a war that has already been won by the enemy."

Gokuh growled, trying to keep control of his temper. His damned temper. It seems to have gotten worse around all these Saiyans.

Tien shook his head. "You bear such little loyalty to the Saiyans that you would sabotage any hope they retain for winning?"

"Win. Lose. It makes little difference to me. Either situation leaves me as a slave or low-class citizen, with no hope to prosper," Kelder complained bitterly. "At least I can watch the side that should care for me crumble into dissension before I die."

The half-Saiyan turned to leave, but Gokuh snapped forward and caught his arm. "If I even catch you thinking about harming Callas, I will kill you. And make no mistake, your plans to spread uncertainty through the Saiyan ranks will not work. I will make sure of that."

Kelder pulled his arm from Gokuh's grip, a bruised red mark where he his hand had been. He glared at Gokuh and walked off, saying nothing more.

"Gokuh..." Tien said quietly.

Gokuh turned to his friend with hot fury pumping through his veins. Nobody would ever harm Callas. Not even the Prince of all Saiyans. He would never allow it to happen. "What?"

Tien noticed the anger and shook his head, attempting to lighten the mood. "Nothing. Let's get some breakfast before you go off to your secret morning thing you still won't tell me about."

/

It was almost Second Sun when Bardock and Goku were resting on the ground of the Royal Gardens. Gokuh felt much better, taking his fury out on the older Saiyan during their sparring session. He noticed Bardock could barely keep up anymore, and he was pleased with himself. He knew he needed to be much stronger though. Much stronger.

"Bardock," Gokuh spoke quietly.

"Hm?" The older man was taking deep breaths, recovering from the training.

"Do you know there is dissension among the warriors?"

"What do you mean?"

Gokuh looked over at him. "Especially the ones I train around every day. I've only been there, what, a couple weeks now? And even I see it."

Bardock shrugged. "The warriors you see every day are the ones on lock-down. They are not necessarily loyal to the Saiyan race. We are just using them because we have no other option. Ideally we would break them before we train them, to ensure loyalty, but we are losing too many good, loyal warriors too fast." Bardock leaned forward and stretched towards his boots, trying to loosen his aching muscles.

The younger man was quiet for a minute, contemplating his next words. "They are plotting to kill Callas the moment they go into battle with her."

Bardock's demeanor switched and he looked at Gokuh in a cold manner. "Who is plotting this?"

"I don't know all their names. Kelder, my roommate, is one of them. I would like to believe he is kidding, but his personality says otherwise."

The older Saiyan snarled and swore. "I knew there were some that did not trust the idea of Callas, but I thought perhaps it had worked on most, to boost morale. To hear that this is being spread among the warriors we can trust least is dire news." He stood and paced for a few moments, swearing every so often and shaking his head. "But there is no time to break them!"

"What do we do?" Gokuh asked, looking up at his father imploringly. He had no one else to turn to, no one else he trusted to help him with this. "Callas has to be safe."

"Yes, she does," he replied. Then he frowned down at Gokuh, "But I have no idea what to do. They stand to lose very little but their lives if they kill her. At least most Saiyans won't touch her on principle. Honor is important to our race, but not the slaves we take."

Silence settled over them as the bells chimed out, signaling Second Sun high in the sky. Gokuh stood and followed his father as they made their way out of their secret training place. Finally Bardock sighed and said, "I don't know what to do, but we'll figure something out."


	16. The Family Secret

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 16  
**The Family Secret**

7.4.2011

updated 11.2.11

Bulma Briefs was thoroughly enjoying the special treatment for being a super genius scientist. Sure she didn't like the rough treatment by Saiyans and inequality for females, but it beat being dead. Besides, she was not as worse off as some of the other human females. She heard most of them were used for pleasure slaves until they were killed.

No, she had it good.

And now she had her father's lab, more or less. All of the familiar equipment and files, the half-finished inventions, the plans, everything.

She even had a team of scientists she knew were mostly competent. She was also happy she could get them out of the horrible situation of the other lab. One of them was a female alien, some race she did not know, that had been abused over and over by the brutish guards. Extremely intelligent creature, but extremely shy because of the previous predicament.

Currently, Bulma was perusing the older files in her Father's digital memory bank. It was creepy that he designed such a thing. It had a digital imprint of his bust, down to the silly little cat she grew up with sitting on his shoulder. It spoke to her when necessary, or showed her text if she muted him. Still, it was evident that the creation was her father's idea.

She needed to find medical information on Callas, which was proving to be quite difficult. Ever way she posed the question to her digital father, he cornered her or bypassed it one way or another.

"Errragh! Why is it so difficult to get this stupid information?" she shrieked. Her team members all looked up from their work and stared. She grinned sheepishly and waved them back to their work. "Sorry, sorry. Continue."

They had the easy job. They were currently turning every weapon, device, and gadget the Saiyans wanted converted into her father's technology into theoretical capsule designs. Once the designs were done, it was easy enough to implement, but it meant mass production of a good many items on the planet and on ships. When she was finished with her current assignment, she was going to look into figuring out a way to capsulize already existing technology; should be a piece of cake.

This, talking to her digital father, was as difficult as it used to be when life was normal.

She reworded her question over and over and over, trying different approaches until finally a series of periods scanned across the screen she was staring at. Nothing out of the ordinary; he was thinking. Then the screen flashed black and he answered her:

"Are you sure you want to see this, Bulma?"

YES. She typed.

"This isn't something to be taken lightly, darling. In fact, this is a terrible, horrible, family secret type of thing that probably shouldn't ever be pulled out of the closet. Skeletons and all that."

The underscore flashed on the screen, awaiting her response. What could she say to that?

I NEED TO KNOW.

"Alright, but I warned you, sweetheart. Please be kind if you decide to tell this to Callas. In fact, I prefer she never knew, but... if it can't be helped. This is what you have been searching for, I assume."

Bulma glanced up at her team and angled herself and the screen she had away from them, pressing a button to put a shade screen over the back of the digital information. She loved these transparent screens, almost like the thinnest piece of glass or plastic she ever saw. Durable, but anyone could read your results if you did not put the shade on the back, an option that had not been available in the other lab.

Then she took a deep breath and touched the screen when her digital father had revealed a folder waiting to be opened. The folder opened and files poured out. Medical history, x-rays, and experimental results with notes. She scanned them and then blinked.

"What?" she whispered to herself. "That... can't be."

She read over everything carefully, ever so carefully, and shook her head. "Callas..."


	17. Power Awakening

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 17  
**Power Awakens**

7.4.2011

updated 11.2.11

Callas opened her eyes and the light filtering in through the clear stone hurt her head. She felt heavy with sleep, but otherwise alright. She sat up, her mind foggy and uncertain. It took her awhile to remember she was not at home. Well, she was, but not her old home. The room registered as the place she fucked a certain Monster Prince and enjoyed it. She would never see her mother or father again, and a strange sadness settled in her chest before she pushed it away.

Weakness, she thought to herself. She was better here than anywhere she had ever been.

"You're awake," came a deep voice. She turned to find Bardock sitting in an over-sized chair several feet from her bed. He was in her room; he never came into her room if he could help it. She felt pleasure emanating from him, so strong she thought she might choke. Everything about him seem to be as easy to read as a book placed in front of her in Chikyuu. He stood and walked over to her, and for a moment she thought he put his hands around her cheeks, touching her neck. But with a blink, she realized he had not.

Strange, she thought, swallowing. It seemed so real.

She also realized after a moment: It was what he had wanted to do.

Callas smiled at him and reached her hand up instead and touched the tips of her fingers against his neck. He swallowed, the bulge of his Adam's apple (or whatever Saiyan's called it) moving up and down, and then moved back slightly.

"I feel like I've been dreaming for days. What hour is it?"

Bardock stared at her for a moment. "It's Third Sun, but you have been asleep for a week."

The warm calm she felt from him turned icy cold with her own shock. She shoved everything she felt from him away and pulled inside herself, trying to remember something, anything. _Asleep? For a week? I don't... Wait, I remember... I was thirsty, and then... _"Bulma? Is she here?" Callas looked around quickly.

"No, that was several days ago. She came up to look at you, see if she could figure out what was wrong with you." He eyed her for a moment and then grabbed her chin, forcing her to hold his gaze. "Are you sure you are coherent?"

"Yeah! I feel... well, I feel great, actually. Just a bit out of sorts." Callas furrowed her brow at him and pursed her lips. "What was wrong with me?"

Bardock released her and shook his head. "We still don't know. But... I guess your body fought it off. The vitamins must have helped."

Callas pulled the covers back and slid out of bed. She tried to stand on her legs but they crumpled beneath her. Bardock appeared next to her and grabbed her.

"Perhaps you should take it easy. You have not used your muscles in days."

Callas scrunched up her nose. "That's going to put my training back. Why didn't you put me in a rejuvenation tank thingy?"

He smiled sourly. "The war... all tanks have been in constant use and slaves do not have priority." Then his expression brightened. "However, we have an injection that works for exhaustion, physically. It would not have helped against whatever virus you may have had, but it helps tired and weak muscles like a Rejuv-Tank does without the massive healing properties. It might strengthen them up a bit to get you back on your feet."

"I'll take one of those," Callas quipped, sitting back on the bed. "I'm going to need it," she muttered. "I can't believe I missed so many days. And I feel perfectly healthy now! Just a tad weak, and even that is fading." She glanced up at Bardock who was strangely quiet. He was smiling at her. Kami, he looked so much like Gokuh when he smiled like that. "What?"

"I'm... glad you are okay."

She smirked at him, arrogance crossing her features. "Worried about me, I take it?"

"Never," he chuckled. "But my days were quite a bit more boring without you nagging me."

Callas laughed but cut it short when she felt a familiar presence nearing. "He's coming."

"Who?" Bardock asked, then turned his senses to the door. Immediately he backed away from the bed and neared her bedroom door in time for Prince Vegeta to enter the front room. "My Prince, she is awake."

He stalked into the bedroom like a panther, watching her carefully, assessing her. She swallowed as softly as possible. She was uncertain as to why she felt a thrill of fear; it felt like centuries since she had last seen him. No, that's what he was thinking. Was he nervous around her? He couldn't be. She had to be mixing his emotions with hers.

Had it always been this hard? She was so sensitive. It must be because of her sickness.

Finally, the prince looked at Bardock and asked, "How long?"

"Maybe 5, 10 minutes." Then he added, "She seems perfectly fine. No residual effects except weakness in muscles that have not been used in over 7 days. To be expected."

"You will take her to the medical bay in the morning. For now, leave us."

"My lord, if I may—" Bardock started but the dark icy glare from his prince stopped him. "As you wish my lord."

Callas watched and felt Bardock leave. He was worried and angry, frustrated and sad. She could not tell why. The intensity of the Monster in front of her was drowning out everything else. After a few minutes she tore her eyes away from the bedroom door and met the Prince's gaze. He was in the same spot, watching her. A predator watching his prey.

Dark feelings overwhelmed her. He wanted to hurt her, she could feel it. She wanted to taste blood and sex; no, he did. They wanted each other, to feel skin and rough hands, gentle warm, conforming bodies underneath. It was maddening, and she could not turn it off. Could he not feel her own confusion, her fear, her desire?

"You seem different," the Monster Prince finally said. His voice was low, rough, full. Of desire, of stress, anger, meaning. Just full.

"You missed me..." she said barely above a whisper. But he heard her. She saw his eyes ice over before burning with fiery passion. Only she would ever see this side of him, she knew. And only she would ever feel this all from him. It was enough to make her smile.

She had power over the Prince of the Saiyans. And tonight she would drink it in, revel in it just as he would. She curved her lips into a devious smile and licked them moments before he crushed his lips against hers.

Tomorrow, he would go back to being master, and she his slave with no more power over him until they were in bed together once again.

Callas could handle that.


	18. I've Been Quite Naughty

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 18  
**I've Been Quite N****aughty**

7.14.2011

updated 3.29.2012

After a Rejuv-Injection and a night with the Monster Prince, Callas felt mostly back to normal. She went about the next few weeks just as before, spending her days training with Bardock and Gokuh until Second Sun, entertaining herself until after Third Sun, and hoping her Prince would entertain her before slumber. Bardock watched her carefully, not so much to her knowledge, and he noticed a significant increase in her abilities. All of them.

He had something figured out. Or so he thought.

"I think she can read minds, my lord."

"What?" Vegeta spun around to face him, rage burning his eyes into black pits. "What do you mean, read minds? We would have figured that out by now, I'd hope!"

Bardock lowered his gaze. "It seems to fit, my lord. My guess is that the ki-supressant gear we kept on her, turned on, also hindered that particular ability. When I turned it off for her training... well, that was when I noticed a significant difference in her behavior. As if she could guess what was going on around her."

Vegeta's nostrils flared as this irritating and unexpected news was brought to him. He clenched and unclenched his fists, tail swishing vehemently behind him. "I suppose it makes sense. She seems so different lately. As if..."

"As if she knows what to do in any given situation," Bardock supplied.

"As if she can read minds," Vegeta growled quietly.

Bardock watched as his Prince paced the floor, pondering about the situation. "This could be very good for us, sire."

"And it could be very bad," Vegeta replied in a snarl. "She's a weakling but if she reads minds she can find a way out. Or she could absolutely ruin all the plans we have by turning the idiot Kakarrot against us when we... need his power." A disgusted look formed on the Prince's face, no doubt aggravated at mentioned the need for a third class's power.

"But if we can find a way to continue manipulating her," Bardock said slowly, though in his head he was thinking of just asking her, "into infiltrating the enemy and giving us their war plans, then we can crush them easily."

Prince Vegeta sighed, trying not to grimace. "That is not the Saiyan way, comrade. I despise that it comes to this. That we have to stoop to other races subterfuge and deceitfulness rather than fighting an honorable battle, face-to-face with our enemies."

"Every Saiyan would be slaughtered if we try to fight by our customs and honor our rules," Bardock said softly, knowingly. He had seen it. Sometimes he hated his gift. He dreamed about Saiyans dying every night when the Sight decided to plague him, when he was entertaining other ideas of trying to win the war. "This might be how she is going to help save our race. It's not so much her being a Warrior as Saiyans think of one, but she would still be battling the enemy for us."

Vegeta was silent for a long time. Finally he stopped pacing and looked his Advisor in the eyes. "Find out for sure if she reads minds. See if she will help us. In the end, we have leverage over her."

Bardock nodded. "Her sister and Kakarrot."

Vegeta smiled without any real emotion and dismissed him. Bardock left his prince, and all the way back to Callas's chambers, he tried to figure out the best to get the information from the red-haired warrioress. A part of him felt betrayed that she had not told him about this sooner. Then again, she had been captured and turned into a pleasure slave for the Prince. Why would she reveal such information about herself, when she can keep it and use it for her own benefit?

He unlocked her door to her room and it slid open with a hiss, closing behind him as he stepped inside and re-latching. Callas was sitting on the floor, her long hair spread across the plush red carpet, forehead pressed against the transparent stone window. She did not seem to acknowledge his presence, so he cleared his throat. She still did not move, but he could hear her breathing, the softness of her heartbeat.

"Callas?"

She sighed and turned, leaning her back against the window. A delicate silk sleeveless blouse of shimmering green clung to her chest and strands of some thin black cloth spilled around her legs mingling with her long red hair. She looked positively delicious and Bardock worked hard to keep his face (and mind) blank.

"Are you well?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Callas replied, a hint of bemusement in her voice.

Had she read his mind? How long had she been doing that? _Oh, warrior gods... there have been too many a time I wanted her for myself. What if she tells Prince Vegeta? I don't think my gift would get me out of that one. Come to think of it, Vegeta seems to be developing an unhealthy bond with his pleasure slave... Damnit, now isn't the time for wandering thoughts! She might be listening in... Are you? Callas? Listening in?_

Callas furrowed her brow and said with a slight laugh, "Um, Doc, are you alright? You look... kinda constipated."

"What? No, I'm fine!" He stammered. "Constipated, really? You need more manners." Bardock sighed and shook his head at her. Well, she either was not listening in or chose not to answer his thoughts.

After staring at him for awhile longer, Callas said with a hint of annoyance, "Is there something I can do for you, Doc? I'm awaiting my Prince here." She finally stood, running her fingers through her bangs and shaking her head, red hair swishing behind her.

"Yes, er, I have a question—" Bardock began, but was interrupted by the beeping of the intercom. He swore before storming over to it and pressing the button to accept the incoming call. "What?"

"Oh, Bardock, sir," the low-class Saiyan said. "Didn't expect you to answer."

"Well, you called the Prince's pleasure chamber and I _am_ her guard," Bardock snapped.

"It's just... I sent the call out to security sectors requesting a Royal Guard, and I didn't expect it to go... there." Bardock glared into the camera and the man gulped as he continued, "Anyway, there's been an incident in the New Labs. We need an Elite or Royal Guard to sort it out."

"On my way," Bardock said, flipping off the com and turning to Callas. "I'll be back, sorry." He left her chambers in a hurry, locking the door behind him and making sure the security was still in place so only Vegeta or he could enter later. Callas would not be able to leave. If something had happened in New Labs, he worried something might happen to her.

Tromping through the halls, his tail swished unhappily. If anything had happened to Bulma, he was going to be pissed. The Prince and King would be furious. Someone would die; possibly many someones. New Labs was the general term for the customized laboratory for Bulma Briefs and her team, with high security and Elite Guards posted outside. What could have possibly happened to require his attention?

For a moment his mind wandered to the possibility of Bulma merely wanting to see him again, but quickly he quashed that idea before he would have to indulge in a cold shower. Besides, the soldier said the call was sent out everywhere. She wouldn't call everywhere to find only him. As he rounded the corner and walked down the massive hallway that lead to the New Labs sector, he smelled something burning. He kept walking at a slower pace and sniffed a few times. Something was definitely burning, and it smelled electrical.

Not long after that, he saw a blackish-grey smoke began to furl at the end of the hall. "Of course that is precisely where the doorway to New Labs is," he mumbled as he gathered his ki in under a second, hopped in the air, and shot towards the end of the hallway.

–

Callas stared at the doorway after Bardock left. Just stared while she thought. Eventually her thoughts were voiced as she began to talk to herself.

"I've been a really good girl lately," she said quietly to herself. "I haven't made a fuss about anything. I have done what was asked of me. I've trained, fucked, and stayed holed up in my room until I was bored to tears."

"I deserve a treat, I do believe," Callas chuckled to herself and eyed the control panel that locked the door. The code changed quite a bit due to Bardock's paranoia. "I bet I could figure that out. I am sister to the greatest inventor on Chikyuu. I might not be as good as Bulma is or Father was at the technology side of things, but I could figure that out.

"But if I sneak out, I could get in really big trouble. Maybe even die" She glanced over at the mirror in her room and looked at herself. "I'm becoming lazy and docile, and that just will not do. The Monster Prince will be bored of me if I continue to act like a sloth. Besides, I shouldn't let them know how much I enjoy my time here, as horrible as it is of me that I do. They might start taking things away from me, and that just won't do."

She grinned at herself. "And why do I think they will keep giving me things if I disobey? Because He will try to pacify me and keep me quiet so he can go about his Royal days." The devious woman turned back to the door and sauntered over, delicately unhinging the control panel front. "This will keep me amused for a while. In fact, it's so late in the day, surely the grounds will be fairly quiet. And I can use," she grunted as she spoke, pulling at a very stubborn wire. Then she yelped as it shocked her and sucked on her finger a moment before going back to what she was doing. "I can _use_ this time to scout the grounds.

"Right there... this is a little harder without tools. Aha, there." The door hissed open and she gingerly stepped out, waiting to make sure it closed behind her. It did. "Perfect. Now, to go the complete opposite ways in which I normally go."

Callas giggled quietly to herself. She felt positively naughty, and it was nice. This was how she used to be, testing every rule, finding the breaking point, pushing, pushing until something or someone snapped. Her parents were so _laissez faire_ about it all that, at this point in her life, she realized she could probably have gotten away with murder and it would have been alright.

Gods, she missed the parties. All the loud music, the dancing lights, the grinding people, the hot boys. The foods, unhealthy and fried and cute little sandwiches, driving at all hours of the night and never having to be back anywhere if she didn't feel like it. The clubs were the best, especially with all the smoke hanging in the air. It just was not a cool place to be without the smoke. She probably had cancer from it. Good thing was that she would probably die before cancer even mattered. She chuckled.

Feeling more like herself than she had in ages, Callas began her quiet little trek through the palace halls. She passed a few servants that were more scared of being hurt than looking her right in the eyes to notice who she was. Some, she assumed, just didn't care. The first Saiyan that she passed looked at her a long time as they played chicken in the hall until they passed one another.

"I probably should have hidden my red hair," Callas mumbled to herself.

_Then again_, she thought, _as the Prince's royal slave girl, I probably have some privileges. Like, I bet none of these bastard aliens would dare touch me. They might report me missing and wandering the halls alone, though._ She chewed her lip at that one and then decided that they probably wouldn't pay enough attention to her to matter. It was after Third Sun, meaning it was time to eat and wind down for the day. All the Saiyans would be gone from the Palace, eating, or going back to their quarters. She knew from Bardock that it was uncommon for many Saiyans to wander the halls at night unless in the Pleasure section of the walls.

Callas kept her stroll as leisurely as possible, but she was becoming increasingly nervous about being alone. As strong as she had become, she doubted she could take too many low-class Saiyans at once, and an Elite would be trouble period. Not to mention if she ran into the Monster... Also, not to mention, she was lost already. This place was huge, and she did not think it was necessarily labyrinthine, but not knowing her way turned her around easily. Finally Callas came to a large doorway that had Saiyan writing on a panel next to it. It read:

_Warrior Quarters: Lockdown_

"Hm," Callas mused. "Gokuh would be in there. I wonder if he has his own room. I wonder if I can find him alone..." She smiled, remember times from Chikyuu, and then pulled herself from her reveries. That would be completely stupid and idiotic, especially if they got caught.

"So I'm going to do it," she said flippantly to herself and walked forward. The door opened without any prompting, which she commented on. "Lockdown unit, huh? It's not locked." The simplicity of what lay before her was very unimpressive. Obviously she was being treated like a queen compared to these fools. There were three levels to this place with skinny ledges leading to the second and third level rooms. If she felt like counting she would have wanted to know just how many doors there were but she did not and thus made an estimate of about 30 per side. She found it strange that there were no guards around, although she did see the clear bubble cameras on the walls and ceiling and another large door at the end of the hall, which she could only guess was where the guards might be staying.

When nobody came to greet her for being out of her element here, she began walking the first level, reading the oh-so-convenient nameplates along the panels next to the doors. She counted it was Fate intervening when she found Gokuh's door only four down on the left, his name, Kakarrot, at the top. She did not bother to read the other names as she pressed the button to open the door. Nothing happened, and she realized it was locked.

Sighing, she glanced around to make sure nobody was there, (Where was everybody, anyway?) and pulled the panel off, crossing the necessary wires to open it. She did not butcher the panel this time, so she knew it would re-lock when she left. Opening the door, she found four warriors sitting around a small main room and laughing about something. They quieted at the sound of the open door and Gokuh stood up.

"Callas," Gokuh said, bewildered, glancing behind her. "What are you doing here? And, all alone?"

Callas curled her lips into a smile for him and said, "Why, I came to see you, of course."

"It's dangerous by yourself," he said immediately, and as he spoke, Callas's attention was drawn to the man that was sitting on the couch next to where Gokuh had been sitting.

"Tien?" she said incredulously. "You're alive!"

Tien smiled and waved casually at her. "Yup, so are you."

They had never been close, and Callas had never really cared for him from the beginning, but it was nice to see another Chikyuuan alive. "That's cool," she responded.

"You too," he said a bit awkwardly, and was fortunately saved from any further conversation when another man stood up and stalked aggressively towards the door.

"What are you doing here?" Kelder demanded.

The other alien in the room, a scaly strange looking one, said placidly, "That's the prince's whore, I'd leave her alone, Kelder."

"Tch, she needs to leave, before I make her." He looked over at Gokuh, glaring. "No visitors, ever."

Gokuh held his hands up passively. "I didn't invite her." Then he looked over to Callas, with an apologetic look. "Sorry, but it's really not safe for any of us if you are here, Callas. We don't get any privileges here."

Callas took a few steps in. She could feel the mild curiosity radiating off of Tien, the aggressive arousal from that Kelder, the nervousness from the other alien whose name she had yet to hear, and the worried love pouring from Gokuh. It felt nice to be around more than one or two people again. To be in the same room, not just walking past so many feelings in a corridor. She was close enough to reach out and touch Gokuh's chest. She wanted to curl up against it and remember what sweetness was like, what mildness and innocence could be. "I just... wanted to see you, that's all."

"We-" Gokuh stopped, and Callas felt the shift from her to him in his thoughts. He was afraid. Stopping himself from saying something. It wasn't safe for him to even talk in this room, she realized.

_I'm causing too much trouble here,_ she thought to herself.

Right as she was about to turn around, Kelder growled, "Get your cunt out of here, Kakarrot."

Callas turned her eyes to him, piercing through his head like a bullet. "Excuse me?"

Kelder shifted his attention from Gokuh back to her and smiled viciously. "You heard me. What are you going to do about it, _human_?"

She curled her lips up into a snarl and said, "Oh, I can do quite a bit about it, _half-breed_. Yeah, your green skin gives it away, freak."

He phased out and appeared in front of her but before he could hit her, Gokuh had his arm pulled back.

"No," Callas shouted. "Let us settle this, Gokuh." He let go of Kelder's arm but looked at her uncertainly. "Back off!" she snarled at him, and he did, albeit unwillingly. She could feel it. But this could be a great opportunity to try her powers at someone other than Bardock, who was fairly predictable now, and Gokuh who was far too strong for her.

Kelder crouched into a fighting stance and gave her a cold smile. The scaly alien hopped off the couch and hurried to the back of the room, squeaking, "Please don't mess up the living room again, Kelder."

"Shut up, Syfus!" Kelder snarled as he pushed forward for a punch.

Callas found him to be unbelievably slow, but she could tell there was power behind his moves. She decided she should definitely not get hit, or she would not be able to continue her scouting mission. She dodged several of his moves before he started taunting her.

"The cunt is a chicken. Dodging, not attacking." Kelder licked his lips and swept at her legs, which she jumped over and smacked him on the face.

"I'm just marveling at how slow you are," she bit back.

"Bitch," he roared and doubled his efforts.

Now she was having a bit harder of a time against him. She should quit playing. If she let him go too long, she might make him mad and then actually get hurt. "For that, I think I am going to break your face."

"Right, I'd like to see-" Kelder started but Callas phased and appeared behind him, using his momentum to shove him forward. She wrapped her legs around his body, her long hair fully in the way, and attempted to shove him face-first into the ground. He managed to gain his footing and flipped back, pushing her onto the ground.

With the air knocked out of her, he formed a ki blast to hit her with as the others in the room started screaming at him to stop. Kelder ignored them, and Callas, rather than fear it, let it blaze forth. She nabbed it with her hands and did something she did not know she could do. She absorbed it. It went from her hands, through her skin, and inside her, and she felt extremely volatile inside for a second before feeling like she was soaring on power, as tiny as it might be.

Feeling disoriented and shocked, she did not see the foot until it hit her gut, wrenching a cry from her. She grabbed it angrily and twisted, pulling him down and jumping back up. She spun and side-kicked him away from her while her hair twirled around her. She stared at it a moment, mesmerised, and for the first time in her life she saw it was a living weapon; alive, pulsing with desire and meaning. This time, when Kelder's aggressive approach came, she was not caught off-guard. She pushed herself into him and felt as her hair wrapped around his arms and legs. She positioned her body behind him and gloried in the energy she drained from him. With new-found strength, she used her power to shove him into the floor, letting go only when she heard the crunch sound of his face... breaking.

Callas jumped off him and floated back a few paces before letting her feet touch the ground with a little tap. Kelder groaned and pushed himself up off the floor, turning to give her a hateful glare. She smiled at the deformity of his nose, the bruises already forming on his chin and cheekbones, and the blood smeared all over his face. "See? I broke your face."

Kelder growled but did nothing else. It was Tien that spoke first, "If the guards didn't know you were here, they know now. You two were loud and so was your ki." He was referring to the scouters that many guards wore. Callas hated those things. She liked others not being able to sense her, though from what Bardock said, the Prince was debating teaching his people. She imagined Prince Vegeta liked having something secret, a trump card.

Gokuh stepped in front of Kelder, to block him from doing anything further, and looked at Callas. She could feel the amazement radiating off him. "You're impressed," she said softly.

"Yeah," he grinned. "But you better go." Gokuh nodded towards the door. He reached forward and hugged her tightly to him, holding the embrace longer than he should have in front of the others and they both knew it. He breathed in her scent, she could hear him, and she felt the comfort and joy soaking from his skin into hers. She smiled and pulled away. "Be safe," he added and gently pushed her out the door.

Callas left them, shutting the door, putting the face of the control panel back on and locking it, all the while glancing down the corridor for any guards. The door at the end of the hall made a clicking noise just as she finished and she tore down the other side of the corridor, making it through the way she entered just as she heard the door hiss open. She did not look back to see if they saw her but kept running until she had turned a few corners. When she reached a safe distance, she found a cubby hole in the wall and sat down, letting her nerves calm down and trying to understand what had happened during the fight.

_I've never done that before_, she thought to herself while fingering some strands of her blood-red hair between her fingers. _That energy blast... I... I absorbed it. Like it was sustenance. And I felt renewed and stronger. Then, with my hair? Really? My hair? What kind of freak does that?_ Her face fell into a wry expression. _Then again... I now live on a planet where men do strange and awesome things with prehensile tails._

Footsteps interrupted her thoughts, but they faded quickly. She peeked her head out of the cubby hole and glanced left, then right, then left again and vaguely thought of driving cars back on Chikyuu before continuing her dubious thoughts. _Could I have gained a new power? And how does one gain new powers? Maybe I've been doing this all along and never realized it. No, certainly Bardock would have told me about it and made me practice._

She frowned, bit her lip. _I've always just been fast. That's been my thing. That and Empathy, which is an extremely useful tool. The problem on this planet is that most people here have such strong wills... and that is hard to manipulate. I can use ki energy but to a certain limit._

_This will be a way to get more, though. Maybe all humans have this ability and it just doesn't manifest itself unless you have enough extensive training, of which I have plenty._

More footsteps—these she did not pay attention to until they were close. She panicked and tried to back against the wall. She was not ready to face anyone yet. She needed more time to think, to understand how she did what she did and how to continue using it. It could be vital to escape. But... did she really want to escape? She had almost everything handed to her. She felt a part of her suddenly falling into comfortable acceptance at this life and another part of her rebelled.

Was she that lazy? _Focus!_ she screamed at herself.

Two Saiyan guards walked right past her, and she let out a sigh of relief. The footsteps stopped, causing her to panic, then started up again. Why was she freaking out? She had every right to be out. Except, no, she didn't. She was just causing some trouble. Why had she done this again? Right, trying to be naughty. On a planet full of murderous, aggressive monkey-men. She shook her head, waited about five minutes and decided it would be safe to try and find her way back. She had been gone for way too long and she still had to find her way back to her room, hopefully before anyone noticed she was gone.

Stepping out of her cubby hole, Callas turned and found herself surrounded by the two guards from before.

"Well, hello there, weak little slave," the first one said, a malicious toothy grin on his scarred face. His dark hair was short, abrasively spiky-looking, and he wore earth-toned armor, status of a lower-classed Saiyan. If he were alone, she could probably take him.

The other one chuckled a little and said, "You are a pleasure slave. You know you shouldn't be out past Third Sun." He was uglier than the other. Bulkier in muscle mass than the other, and shorter as well. He had wild brown hair, almost shoulder-length, that looked like it had been hacked off with a sword or something, and his face was as rough looking as dried leather. "Don't you?" he prodded, pushing her shoulder.

Callas glared at them and took a step back to regain her balance from the Saiyan's push. "I do as I please," she said in a commanding voice, trying to push the feeling of authority over them. "I am Prince Vegeta's slave, and no one is to touch me."

The first one let out a hearty guffaw and glanced at his friend, "Of course you are. No one else has hair... quite... like yours." He reached out and snatched some of her hair in his hand, stroking it gently. Callas watched him warily but made no move to escape. Suddenly he dug his fingers into her hair and wrenched her forward so that she was inches from him. "But that doesn't bother me much, does it bother you?" he looked up at his partner.

The other one hesitated. "The Prince might be bothered a bit by it."

"Then he should keep her locked up," the Saiyan said, licking his lips. Callas could smell his breath. Rancid meat and blood; she gagged and felt panic welling up in her.

"Then again," the shorter Saiyan continued, "I think we oughta get something tasty like her every so often. Good luck symbol, my ass. She's just like all the other humans. I can smell her fear." He got up close to her and sniffed, then put his hand between her legs. Callas jerked away and twisted her body, fight-or-flight response kicking into flight, and she tried desperately to twist out of the tall Saiyan's grip. The short one chuckled and smelled his fingers. "I can smell her sex too. Delicious, like a fruit from her home planet."

The tall one held her tight, grabbing a forearm for extra grip. "I remember those, what were those called?"

"Petchus, I think."

Calles squirmed, harder, more desperate.

"Peaches," the other corrected, then pulled Callas close to him. "Calm down, or I'll really have to hurt you, sweet thing. And you bruise just as easily as that fruit, I bet."

Callas glared at him and put her hand against his face, doing her best to suck his energy away. It worked, surprisingly fast, and she felt his energy flowing into her.

"What the-" he began, but she backhanded him fast, throwing him away from her. She didn't bother to fight the other one and began to run. She was rejuvenated from the Saiyan's energy and used the excess ki in combination with her own to run fast. Flying would only attract scouters and if she wanted to lose these two. She had not noticed if the had a scouter, but she was not chancing it.

The two Saiyans yells of anger were right behind her and she heard their own boots slamming into the marble floors as they ran. She was faster, and she would have made it if she had chosen a different way. "Damnit," she muttered as she turned a corner and found a dead end. "Why do these even exist!" she yelled and turned around, feeling like a caged animal. Wild, afraid, excited.

The two Saiyans rounded the corner and saw her trapped. They smiled coldly, wickedly, and the tall one said, "You are going to pay for that, you little whore." They walked forward. "I'll make you pay." A bruise was forming on his cheek.

Callas grinned angrily back at them and threatened, "There's more where that came from." Though strangely she felt the familiar pull of her ki suppressant collar and wrist bonds as the cyber-tech began to glow bright in an inopportune attempt to defuse the energy she had begun gathering. They were like magnets around her and suddenly sucked and pushed all of the energy she had in her. It was held deep inside her, in a place she couldn't reach, and all at once she felt empty. Even the gravity of the planet was a burden to her.

"What?..."

Callas took an involuntary step backwards and looked at the men in front of her.

"No," she whispered, horror filling her, dread a giant pit in her stomach. "No..."

The two Saiyans advanced on her. She had no way to protect herself now. Where was her protector, her guardian, her Monster Prince? Anyone? They were laughing when they grabbed her head, and she screamed for Bardock.


	19. Dirlatranisian War Dogs

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 19  
**Dirlatranisian War Dogs**

7.15.2011

updated 11.2.11

**A/N:** I apologize for how long it's been since I updated... I hope you guys are still here and willing to read. I'm stuck at this one part in the story that could go one way or the other and I couldn't figure out which way it would go... or how to get it there. But I'm trudging through it and hopefully it turns out alright. I'm also wondering if getting some beta readers would help... so if you are interested, you would basically just check my spelling and grammar, make sure that everything is coherant and cohesive with the rest of the story (sometimes I have to comb back through chapters because I can't remember what happened in one little part), and make sure everything makes sense. I would totally appreciate any help. If anyone is interested.

/

The massive creature reared up on its thick, tiny (in comparison to its body anyway) hind-legs and let out a furious roar that sounded like metal twisting and crunching mixed with the howling of an Oozaru. Snapping its jaws open and shut, it thrashed its large head and slammed the side of its face into the nearest set of technical machines, sending sparks, machinery, and electronic bits everywhere. Beady black eyes found the target it was looking for and it launched forward, long reptilian tail lashing to and fro, pulling wires from the walls, knocking metal tables over and sending all sorts of equipment flying through the air.

Its head was mostly made up of a mouth and it gnashed its teeth, snapping its jaws shut, trying to obtain the little man that had hurt it moments before. Another roar of fury and pain erupted from its stocky throat as the mouth missed crunching down on soft flesh and meat, and the creature scuttled around to search the trashed room for the enemy.

Shuffling around on four legs, dangerous long claws tip-tapping against the metal of the floor, the creature finally spotted him leaning over another frail little creature—one of the man-creatures that had the misfortune of being in the way when his tail flicked through the air. If creatures such as this could smile, it was probably smiling as it barreled through the ruins of the laboratory towards the current enemy.

"STOP!"

The shrill voice screamed. It was the only voice the creature listened to, and it only listened to the voice because the voice was pretty and nice and fed it.

The creature turned as gingerly as possible and lay its giant head next to the woman-creature with a wheezy whine that sounded close to the whir of a machine. Her hands were on her hips and her light eyes were angrily focused on it.

/

Bulma patted the massive canine-like creature on its large head as he finally calmed down enough to listen to her. She turned to watch Bardock, who was making his way over to them both. "See?" she told him. "Fido doesn't mean any harm. He's just a baby and the guards scared him by attacking."

Bardock shook his head, eyeing the alien. "It shouldn't even BE here. They were trying to kill it. The Dirlatranisians are extremely dangerous aliens, Bulma, and you're trying to keep it as a pet."

"He is a boy," she snapped, "And how is it my fault that he got past all security, found his way into my lab, and needed someone to take care of him? He's quite intelligent and helps me out."

Smoke from the destroyed machinery flooded through the air around Bardock's head, making him cough. He waved it away and kicked a broken interface panel out of his way. "I can't believe none of your workers reported it. I can't believe the guards didn't _notice_ it." He glanced at the furious look on the woman's face and corrected himself, "Him."

"Well, I kind of kept him hidden..." Bulma looked at Fido and smiled. "He just grew so fast."

"Yes, and he is going to be double this size in his adult form, unless he's an Alpha. Then he will be triple to quadruple this size."

Bulma eyed her new pet and it was her turn to shake her head, though more in amazement than anything. Fido was already as large as a donkey and three times the width, most of it muscle mass in the chest and jaw area. Hind legs were built for launching the Dirlatranis forward, similar to the pounce of a predatory cat back on Chikyuu. His long tail was whip-like, probably for balance, though she saw it clearly as a weapon now too, with all the damage it did to her lab. The most interesting aspect of Fido, to Bulma anyway, was the skin; it was soft as velvet, with very fine maroon-colored hairs all over his body, although the tail was scaly.

"Are you listening to me?" Bardock snapped and the lavender-haired scientist shifted her attention back to him. "You can't keep him. He's going to be put to death, especially for the havoc created in here-"

"Because of your guards," Bulma interjected.

"And the amount of time and credits that are going to go towards fixing this, after what was already put into creating these labs, will definitely be a reason to destroy that thing."

Bulma put her hands back on her hips and glared at Bardock. "Now you listen here! I already told you it was not Fidos fault! He was hurt and scared, and if I had been in the room instead of running to get a tool that should have BEEN here, I could have kept him hidden. He was looking for me!"

"You shouldn't have been hiding him in the first place!" Bardock tried to shout over Bulma, but her voice was far too loud and shrill.

"And it's not right of you to take my only friend and pet! Especially if you are going to KILL him for protecting himself!"

"SILENCE!" Prince Vegeta's voice cut through Bulma's. Fido shifted uncomfortably behind her but otherwise remained still.

Bulma immediately dropped to her knees to bow to the prince, and she noticed Bardock bow as well.

"What in the name of the warrrior gods is going on here?" Vegeta demanded, his tone both astounded and irritated. "A Dirlatranis? What... how?" He shook his head and Bulma thought he was acting very unprincely, but then again this was probably a very strange sight. Why did she ever think she could hide an alien dog-creature and get away with it? "Alright, explain." Prince Vegeta looked from Bardock to Bulma and back.

Bardock looked over at Bulma and raised an eyebrow. She glared at him and stood back up. It had been quite a while since she had been in the Prince's presence and even then, last time she was in a room full of other enslaved scientists. She was feeling extremely vulnerable now, but, being Bulma, she decided not to let it show. Jutting her chin out, she told him everything.

"A few weeks ago we got a shipment of parts in from another planet. I opened the crate and something fell out. I thought it was just some of the parts, but later I found this guy," she said affectionately, pressing her fingertips into the fine hairs on his brow. Fido grunted happily and she continued, "At first I was going to call for help but he looked so helpless..."

"So you decided to take him for a pet?" The incredulity in the Prince's voice irritated Bulma.

"Yes," she snapped, and then added, "My prince," when he glared at her impetuousness. "Er... well, it was late when I opened the crate so my team was already asleep. So I snuck him into my room and... I've been taking care of him since. I just, uh, didn't expect him to grow so fast."

"You are an idiot, woman," Vegeta growled.

"I am the smartest scientist you have!" she quipped.

"Then we might be in trouble," Vegeta snarled, his tail lashing behind him. Bardock at to practically suffocate himself to keep from laughing.

Fido must have sensed the aggression because he stood up and started to growl at the Prince. Bulma's eyes widened and she turned to her alien pet and soothed him. "No, no. Good boy. If you attack the prince, you will be killed. You don't want to die, okay?"

Fido huffed and sat down, his large head drooping, though his black eyes remained on Vegeta warily. Prince Vegeta narrowed his own gaze at the monster and scoffed. "You certainly trained it well. Has anyone ever tried to train a Dirlatranisian before?" he asked Bardock.

The older Saiyan shook his head. "Not to my knowledge, sir."

Bulma watched as lights went on in their head. It took her a moment to get where they were heading with the idea and she said, "Oh, no. I'm not training any more of these things. I love Fido here, but he is a handful, and I am already so busy with my projects!"

"Not you," Bardock interrupted. "Just... the idea of unleashing the fury of these creatures on our enemy."

"It could work out very well in our favor," Vegeta smiled coldly. Then he looked around at the mess and irritation was back on his face. "Woman, you have caused an enormous amount of trouble in all your time here, and I can't believe I'm saying this but you can keep the damned beast."

Bulma smiled pleasantly. Somehow things just kept working in her favor. Except getting kidnapped and forced into slave labor by an alien race.

Prince Vegeta seemed to be staring at her strangely though, and the next words out of his mouth sent her stomach into a downward spiral. "However, this cannot go without punishment."

She nervously ran her fingers through her hair. _He wouldn't hurt me, would he? My mind is too valuable too him. I've already helped set up their armies with weapons from my father, upgraded a few things, and I'm so close to figuring out a safe and efficient way to magnify their ki. Maybe I should spring that gravity-room idea on him now, to lessen the punishment. No, I'll wait to see what he says first..._

His dark eyes bore into her piercing blue ones for the longest time that Bulma felt herself blush. She had never paid much attention to the prince's physique but he was quite attractive. No wonder Callas seemed enjoy her life. Bulma could get used to having that man's body all over her.

_Stop that_, she told herself quickly and looked away, over at Bardock who was watching the exchange with a different weird expression. He seemed... jealous? No, Bulma had to be making things up. Finally the silence was too much for her so she said in a soft voice, "I apologize for the mess, your highness, but at least nobody was killed. Just... lots of fire and damaging smoke..." She trailed off. That was stupid to say. She felt stupid and she didn't like feeling that way. Her anger was coming back, directed at the Prince who was merely watching her as if she were some carnival act to amuse him.

"You will help clean all of this up," Vegeta finally said, deflating her anger for the moment. "The beast will be kept in an outside stable and if he does anything stupid or destructive, he will be destroyed."

"That's it?" Bulma blurted out.

The man in front of her scowled. "And you will serve my father and I each night for dinner."

"What?" she shrieked. "For how long?"

"Until I get tired of looking at your ugly face," the prince snickered and turned to leave. "Oh, before I go." He looked back at her. "What did you find out about your sister's condition?"

Bulma felt lhe world spin on its axis for a horribly long moment, and she felt like perhaps she had been either too quick or too slow to answer him, but if she was he did not mention it. "Nothing. I found nothing... so far. I'll keep looking," she added. She had been avoiding telling anyone. So far, nobody acted as if they knew anything. For all she knew, they had not actually tapped the computers to see what their enslaved scientists were actually doing.

"I expected more," was all the prince said as he left the ruined lab.

Bardock was the man Bulma was worried about. He always seemed to know more than he let on, and right now he was looking at her as if he could pull the information right out of her mouth with a blink. "You know more than you let on."

"Well, you see, my findings are, uh, inconclusive," Bulma saved, as quickly as possible.

He stepped closer to her. "They seemed pretty detailed to me."

Her blue eyes sparked with fury. "You were spying on me?"

"It's my job," he answered in a gruff voice.

"No," Bulma yelled, "Your job is to protect my sister and your prince! Not spy on me!"

"You are a slave, and somehow it has become my burden to watch over you AND your sister, so yes, it is my job to make sure you are truly doing all you can to help us win this war," he snapped at her.

Bulma growled, though she was sure she sounded like a kitten compared to a Saiyan. She searched his gaze and realized, _He doesn't understand what it is I found on Father's system about Callas... he just knows I have something._ "So I'm a burden to you, am I?" she tossed at him, trying to throw him off course. It worked.

"No!" he said quickly, then backtracked. "It's just..."

"Just what?" she prompted, stepping towards him, trying to intimidate him.

"Just..." he looked down at her, frowning, and then he did the last thing Bulma expected him to do. He kissed her. It was quick, just a small touch of the lips and then he pulled back, a strange mortified expression on his face. "Sorry," he blurted. "That was unprofessional."

For a moment, all Bulma could do was stare at him. He had kissed her. And after that first kiss she planted on him weeks ago. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. She didn't dislike him, but she had not quite thought of him that way. Well, that wasn't entirely true, she had entertained that thought on the lonely nights but it had never been an actual option for her in the daylight reality. The first kiss had been loneliness and need for connection, which only he had been providing for her then. And then, as if her human brain could barely comprehend that, she processed that he had apologized to her for the invasion of her physical privacy.

Eventually, her brain shut down and her body took over. Bulma Briefs stepped forward, wrapped her arms around the Saiyan and kissed him back. The desire and passion that erupted from the kiss left them both a little heady and breathless.

Bardock was the first to recover and he pulled away, his tail flicking as if disturbed and uncertain. "I need to check on Callas," he mumbled and hurried out. Bulma barely heard him say he would send guards in to watch her. He left her with a smile on her lips and warmth flooding through her body.

"I wouldn't mind doing that again," she murmured glancing over at Fido who wagged his tail, pulling a couple more wires out of some machinery.

/

Bardock raced back to Callas's room. He felt like he had cheated on her, which was impossibly stupid. But that wasn't the big problem right now. No, not the big problem at all.

"What the fuck," he roared, throwing his hands into his bristly black hair and turning back and forth, his eyes on the door to Callas's room and then down the hall and back.

The larger problem at hand here was the doorway to her room was wide open, and when he stepped inside, he found the interface panel to the lock-open system torn off with wires pulled out.

"What... the... hell," he growled.

When he saw the gaping doorway, like a mouth open in an O of unhappiness, Bardock felt overprotective fury surge through him. When he saw the lock turn open and wired from the inside, he felt disappointment and shock that his ward would do such a stupid, such a disrespectful, and such a suicidal thing: leaving her room without protection.

Bardock searched her room thoroughly, just to be sure, but he already knew she wasn't there. He picked up a small eating table and threw it against the nearest wall with a yell of anger and frustration. What the hell was wrong with the day?

"CALLAS!" he roared, grabbing something else and breaking it on the floor, a random wall adornment from the planet Kestra.

Now he had a decision to make. Turn on the ki suppressants she wore and risk her getting severely hurt or dying from a raging Saiyan, or leave it off and risk her finding a way off the planet before he could find her. Her improvements in power and speed over the past couple months were big enough to worry him that she _could_ find a way off the planet if she were careful. She was smart enough. And if she could read minds...

Bardock was just in the process of trying to decide whether to tell Vegeta or not when the Prince walked in, saw the door, the interface panel, and the mess in the room and deduced the current situation.

"These sisters are more trouble than they are worth," Vegeta said calmly, but Bardock could see the cold, seething fury behind the man's eyes.

Bardock nodded, flipped open the ki suppressant communicator on his wrist and pressed in the key code to turn them on. If she got hurt, it was her own stupid fault. He bowed to his prince and said quietly, "I will bring her back to you, my liege."

"I'll be here."

"She will regret it, I promise you, my lord."

"Oh, yes. Yes, she will."


	20. I Was Already Broken

A/N: This chapter gets a little meaner than the others. It's definitely not PG-13 with mention to rape, abuse, and loooots of language. So if that bothers you, you might want to skip it. I'll try to remember to post a summary of what happened in the next chapter so you can skip it if that bothers you. I'm pretty sure I've put all these bad words in throughout the story so far, just not so many all at once.

Also, my apologies for the long time in between chapters. It's been... weird. I'm currently in between jobs and kinda lost interest in Callas for a bit when I becamse obsessed with The Hunger Games... but I'm back on this. I'd like to get it finished eventually. :3 Thanks for reading!

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 20  
**I Was Already Broken**

7.22.2011

updated 8.31.2012

Bardock was flitting to and fro so quickly that he felt like a fluttering insect. He was also beginning to regret turning the ki-bonds on as it completely masked Callas's ki so that both he the scouter were having trouble locating her. The larger, overpowering energies of all the other Saiyans within the palace were unhelpful.

He had searched the docking bays for transports and personal ships; he had searched the barracks; he had searched the pleasure quarters, though why she would go there was beyond him; he had even searched the main labs where Bulma used to be, just in case Callas did not know where she had been moved.

"The Gardens," Bardock said and shot off in that direction.

The halls were empty of her red hair as he sped with a fury towards his destination. Then, and it was very sudden, he felt her. A spike in the strange other sense he used to feel for ki energy. He stopped and was very still in both mind and body.

It was like he could hear her calling him.

But where was she? He spread himself thin trying to sense her, but nothing else could be found.

"Damnit, Callas..."

/

"I'm so stupid, so stupid," Callas muttered to herself. She was currently huddling in a dark corner of some unfamiliar part of the Royal Palace. Every so often a Saiyan would walk by and she would shift in terror, an attempt to press further back into her semi-safe corner and not be seen. She felt like a terrified little kitten, left out alone in the rain, unable to find its way back to mommy and safeness.

There was no more safety, no more sanctuary.

There was no more self.

Her body felt as if it had been ripped in two, no... three. One piece for herself to tenderly cradle while the other two pieces were torn and bitten and hit and ravaged by those two men... those Saiyans.

"Fucking monkey-men... " She knew they turned into big monkeys. Seen them transformed. Back on Earth... she'd seen them, and then she was enslaved to one, and now... Her mind was scattered, stretched as thin as she had felt between the two disgusting men.

"Why did I leave my room..." she moaned quietly and felt tears welling up in her eyes. Wide eyes, they refused to close. Every shadow made her jump, every sound put her on edge. Would they come back for her? They were worse to her than Vegeta was, and two at a time...

She had stumbled away from them, pulled the remainders of her clothing back up to cover herself as modestly as possible (hard to do in whore's clothing), and ran. She ran like a coward. Of course, she was a human after all, like the Monster reminded her every day. Weak and small, no Saiyan blood inside her at all.

Just his... She let out a hoarse laugh and then smacked the palm of her hand against her mouth hard enough to wince. Bruises would be left from them... their hands, the floor, the wall.

"At least I fought them," she said darkly, feeling anger well up inside her though just as quickly it deflated and was replaced with a trembling unknown. She could not understand her emotions right now, not at all. And she could feel nothing from those around her.

Shuddering, she could remember what she felt moments before the ki-bonds took away her Empathy... Her terror, their raw desire, the physical need to dominate and destroy.

She was dominated... was she destroyed? Outside and inside, she felt like it.

Where was Bardock? Where was she? Could she find her way back? Was it worth it, to risk walking out in the open again? She had made a huge mistake. How would she get past this? She would be expected to act as normal... especially if she could make it back to the room before anyone noticed she was gone.

He would smell it.

She stared unseeingly down at her legs, her skin was dirty and bloodied. Hell, even she could smell them on her. It made her want to retch. And suddenly she couldn't keep the bile down in her stomach. She turned and vomited, feeling a sparse amount of liquid bubbling up and projecting out of her mouth in a wet puddle on the floor.

_I am defiled... but I'm already a whore, so how can I be... feel... this way. Like everything is wrong and worse off then before. Like... like... I am wrong. This is all my fault._

_At least when Prince Vegeta took me, he was... he was... princely about it. He had pride. He did not stoop to such disgusting levels, such inhumane... _

_These aliens aren't human._

Pain erupted in her scalp as someone pulled her up and away from her hiding place. She blindly struggled, twisting her body this and that way, and vaguely she imagined she might look like a wind chime during a hurricane.

"Be still," a calm but firm voice stated. It was unfamiliar to her but the authority in it settled inside her, causing her to quit fighting. Callas lowered her arms and carefully looked up at the Saiyan that held her hair in a fist. He looked much like any other Saiyan—well-built, dark spiky hair, though his face was slightly oblong and he had a quiet, almost sad look to his eyes. She had seen him before, but it was long ago, when she first arrived on Vegetasei. It was his eyes she remembered.

He looked her up and down, taking in her ragged clothes, bruises, and filthy demeanor. Finally he let go of her hair and and turned around. "Come with me," he said quietly, though Callas heard the command in it.

She watched as he walked away and thought seriously about crawling back into her somewhat safe little corner. The Saiyan looked back over his shoulder at her, waiting at the end of the hallway. Callas swallowed nervously and tried to comfort herself in the thought that if he had wanted to... to... do the same to her as those other filthy Saiyans... well, he would already have done so. She had a feeling he was extremely powerful, much more so than the other two that had hurt her.

So she did the only thing she could do in that situation. She followed him, trailing submissively behind and wishing every part of her wouldn't ache as she moved.

/

"What do we have here," King Vegeta said with a wry smile. He took in the red-haired warrioress's appearance with an inward grimace and shook his head, clucking his tongue in distaste. "I see you got yourself into a bit of trouble."

Callas bowed low to the floor, letting the king talk to her. They were alone in his own plush quarters, but she dared not let her gaze linger on anything but the marble floor. He could degrade her if he wished; she felt she deserved it.

"I'm not sure why my son puts up with a weak troublemaker such as yourself," the aged man said, walking towards her. The tapping of his boots on the marble floor was quite fascinating to her as she tried to ignore the proximity of his tail to her face.

_Their tails... _She shuddered.

The king took some of her hair in his gloved hand and sifted it through his fingers. "Even if your hair is a sign of good luck. It would have been better if you were a Saiyan."

"I agree," Callas whispered.

For a moment there was an extremely long silence, and then the king laughed. "Wish you were a Saiyan do you?" When she did not answer, he dropped her hair and continued, "Too bad you aren't. Out of all the females we have left, as precious as they are to our races' survival, they are all weak, cocky, and emotionally volatile. At least you put your irritating emotions to good use."

A second set of footsteps sounded on the marble floor and Callas's eyes darted outward, searching for them. She had not realized there were two here. Of course, she should have. The king would not be alone and vulnerable, if you could call him that, even in his own quarters. Even the prince had guards outside his room, though he claimed he could do without and it was merely Royal decree and Saiyan pack loyalty. She swallowed, feeling like a pathetic dog hunkering close to the floor. If she did have a tail, it would be tucked below her.

_Submissive slut_...

The king sighed quite loudly and she heard the sound of cloth brushing against itself, assuming movement, a gesture of some sort. "Bring her back to her room. No doubt my son is troubled by her disappearance. If it is my son's desire, make sure the ones that did this to her are punished. He might like to do it himself."

As the king spoke, the other Saiyan's large hands wrapped around her wrists, pulling her up. Callas clenched her teeth together and tried her hardest to keep from screaming at being touched. Gods, how she didn't want to be touched right now. The one that pulled her up was the same that took her to the king in the first place. He must be a personal servant or guard. With her ki bonds on and active she had no way to probe for just how much power this one put off, but his stature assumed that he was of a higher class. To be near the king, she supposed he must be.

The guard released her wrists and walked silently to the door of the quarters, turning to look at her. She was meant to follow him. Callas glanced downwardly over at the king and caught herself before she actually said "Thank you." What would she have been thanking him for? Berating her for being stupid? Distracting his son? Defiling his room with her dirt and smell? Who knows... She let her eyes close and then opened them, half-lidded.

Feeling was too much. It was not worth any amount of this pain, this suffering, this self-loathing that she had acquired by merely wishing for a day of rebellious fun. _What a stupid idiot I am. If that's the case, I will stop feeling. Stop wishing for fun. There is no good or happiness here. There is survival._

Callas followed the guard out the door and they walked silently in the halls. They passed several Saiyans, mostly guards, some laborers and low-class here and there. Everybody stared. She could only imagine what she looked like.

"Pay no mind to them," the guard finally spoke, his voice soft, almost caring. If a Saiyan could care.

"I don't," she answered, her voice seemed rough... _Like the rest of me._

"Most Saiyans do not see the world for more than fighting, blood, women, and loyalty to the king." He looked at her, as if expecting something. What did he expect her to say? She knew all of this already. They would get out of this war and enter into another immediately. They had bloodlust, unsatiable, and what did they expect her to do for them just because she had red hair? He guided them down a hallway and motioned a couple of guards past before they turned a corner, to keep her on the side opposite the other Saiyans. Silently she thanked him; outwardly she glared at the walls. Then he said, "We are not all that one-dimensional."

Callas said nothing, but found his statement intriguing enough that she filed it away in her memory. She would dub him Not-One-Dimensional Man. He could be like... the lamest of superheroes on this bloody planet. She found that her mouth would not crack at smile at her silly joke, a bizarre unbidden thought. It was strange, she felt an emptiness settling over her. At first she panicked as they continued their walk through the palace halls, and then she realized if she was empty, she would not feel the pain, or the shame, or the ache or the anger. She would not want to rip her skin off and feed it to a crow, or whatever bird-like creature might feast on flesh around here.

They were almost to her hallway when she decided she could embrace this emptiness and perhaps... Well, perhaps life would be a little bit easier. Autopilot sounded good. The physical ache in her body would heal, in time, and maybe Vegeta would let her watch him kill the ones that did this to her. (Would he care? No, that's not being empty, don't think about that.) That would give her something to smile about, even on autopilot.

The guard stopped her as they were about to round the corner to the hallway with her personal quarters. His sad eyes looked at her before he said, "My name is Brolly." Then he grabbed her upper arm slightly too tightly and pulled her around the corner. Callas did not have the will to oppose him, but her emptiness failed her when she saw the door to her room slid open and Prince Vegeta pacing and ranting to Bardock and Nappa. They all went silent as Brolly pulled Callas into the room and threw her unceremoniously onto the floor in front of the Monster.

Callas dared not make a noise, despite the fact that her knees hit the marble with painful force. She dared not look up at him until he let her. She had only a glimpse of his face but she could see the white contorted fury imprinted upon it.

She had never beheld such rage. Her emptiness abandoned her and terror pumped through her veins and into every limb. She was certain he could smell it wafting off of her.

Silence. Silence almost unbearable, but not quite. Only because when it would be broken, Callas was certain she would regret even her mother's birth. She wished the silence would not end. But all things come to an end.

"You," he began in the quietest voice. A whisper of a waterfall of fury. Then it built. "You stupid, CONTEMPTUOUS WENCH!"

Callas could swear the other three Saiyans in the room stopped breathing.

"HOW DARE YOU? HOW **DARE** YOU!" Prince Vegeta roared. His footsteps beat the ground as he tromped over to her. "All I have given you and you reward me with insolence and stupidity!" His hand darted down and tangled in her hair, clenched and pulled her up so that his face was inches from hers. He jerked her hair down, making sure that her line of vision was met with his ire-filled eyes. As he glared, he inhaled the scents on her and wrinkled his nose.

Callas flinched from the sheer fury she saw twisting and flickering in his dark eyes. She glanced around, feeling extremely small and vulnerable with everyone watching her. He was waiting, his hand trembling as he clutched painfully at her hair. She vaguely thought of how much it would suck if he pulled out a clump of it; he could if he wanted. Finally she managed to let words spill from her lips, "S-sorry, I'm sorry, Prince." Her words were jumbled, quiet, afraid.

_I'm broken!_ She wanted to scream at him. _Do what you want to me, I'm broken anyway! _Then another part of her screamed at that part. _No, no, I already hurt. Please don't hurt me more. Can't you see I'm weak and vulnerable! Protect me! Bardock! He'll protect me, right? Please, don't let him hurt me some more. I can't take it again._

The Monster Prince watched her eyes in ill-tempered silence and then narrowed his own as if he could read her thoughts. "What possessed you to fucking pick your own door and skip around the palace like you owned it! Hm? Did you think it was a brilliant idea? Did you for fucking once think of any consequences?" He jammed his free hand's forefinger into her forehead. She grimaced at the pain but kept her widened eyes on his. She was swallowed up by the horrible anger.

_He's never been this angry at me. What have I done? This is all my fault... all my fault._

"You stupid, insolent whore!" he screamed, jerking his wrist and throwing Callas against the wall. She hit it with a nasty thud, but managed to keep her yelp to herself. Shuddering, she propped herself against the wall and looked up at him.

"And what? Did you want someone else to lay? Huh?" He stormed over to her, grabbed her upper arms and picking her up slammed her back against the wall. This time she could not help the cry that came from her mouth. "Well, ANSWER ME, because you smell like it!"

Callas could feel tears welling up in her eyes. How could he think she wanted this to happen to her? How could he think she wanted ANY of this to happen to her? She wasn't that awful of a person, that she could want this, right? She wasn't so awful that life would just deal her a shitty hand of cards and move on... no more draws, no more luck or good fortune?

When she did not answer him as he asked, Vegeta roared; he sounded quite like the beast the Saiyans can turn into, and he threw her against the opposite wall. This time, she heard more than felt the sickening crack of something breaking. She cried out, more surprised than in pain, and felt a numbness wash over her arm. The Monster Prince glared at her across the room and screamed, "I want an answer, you little bitch!"

_Ah, there it is. _Suddenly the pain from her arm washed over her and she could not contain her whimpers. Too much sensitivity in her body to handle the pain anymore. She longed for the emptiness from moments ago. Her eyes drifted over to the three Saiyans watching her. Nappa seemed amused; Brolly, his eyes were sad and yet his face unreadable; and Bardock... she could see his struggle plainly on his face. He was upset that the Prince was doing this, yet he had no power to stop him.

_I am his to destroy. I belong to him. I am a thing, an object. I always was. I fooled myself into thinking otherwise._

Vegeta was stalking towards her lithely, like a panther stalking prey. Callas managed to shake her head, clutching painfully at her broken forearm. She had not looked at it, her eyes focused on the danger in front of her, but she could feel how the bone stuck out at an odd angle. The smell of blood was copper and rust in the air. She could see danger's nostrils flaring as he too smelled her blood.

"No?" Prince Vegeta said in a strangely kind voice that quickly turned cold. "Then why-?"

"If you'll allow me, Prince," Brolly interrupted. The prince spun around with a deadly glare, but the guard continued. "I found her bloodied and beaten in a hallway near the lower class barracks. She was cowering int a notch in the wall. As it seemed to my eyes, she did not necessarily seek out what found her." He bowed when he was done.

Vegeta snarled and turned back to Callas. "As if that excuses the fact that you broke out of your personal quarters—decadent, lush quarters that I provide to you as a courtesy despite the fact that you are a slave! MY slave. You take for granted the privileges that have been granted to you, human wench!"

Trembling, Callas nodded ever so slightly. "I w-was so s-stupid," she managed to stutter out through her clenched teeth.

"Fucking right you were," Vegeta lashed out, closing his hand around her throat. He lifted her up and Callas shrieked in pain and surprise.

She had enough. Callas kicked at him and tried to pry his hand away from her throat with the hand that was not attached to a broken arm. The pain was almost unbearable but the lack of air going to her throat was worse. It was starting to burn, actually. She could make out Vegeta laughing and voices behind him. He was laughing at her as he choked her? Monster... Monster, monster, monster!

"Prince, please," Bardock stepped forward, pleading. "You'll regret killing her! Please!"

Vegeta roared and released Callas, letting her drop. She crawled pitifully away from him, gasping and coughing. He grabbed the table next to her and sent it across the room. It crashed into the wall, making her flinch. "You are pathetically weak and irrevocably idiotic! I _should_ kill you for disobeying me!" He glared back at Bardock as he yelled at her, then added, "But I won't. As long as you prove that you aren't as worthless as you act."

Callas cringed as the Monster approached her once again, feeling annoyingly weak but unable to help her instinctive reactions, curled on herself on the deep red carpet of her room. His approach was slower, and he knelt in front of her, anger and betrayal plain on his face. She felt empty in a different way with these ki bonds; she could not feel what he felt and strangely it made her sad.

"I thought you could be trusted, but you proved me wrong, slave." The name he called her dripped with venom she had only heard him use for the weak, the unworthy, and his enemies. Callas did not like it one bit.

_I brought this on myself. I wish I could rewind time._

"So you will have to be punished," Vegeta began, reaching down to touch her face, dirty and bloody though it was.

"My lord," Bardock interrupted, "It seems as if she has been punished enough. If you do anymore you will kill her. We need her!"

The prince whirled around, his hand retreating, glove covered in blood, and sped over to Bardock where he punched him into the wall. "Mind yourself, low-class! She is mine and I will do with her what I want. Your Visions mean little to me!"

Callas's mind was cloudy with pain now that the fear for her life was ebbing away, but her mind caught on the mention of visions. What did that mean, visions? And why was she involved?

Bardock stood up warily but did nothing to attack nor defend himself from his prince. "I only mean to protect you, the King, and the people with my advice, my lord. I protect you the most," he added, "You will be unhappy, my lord, if you kill her."

"Just what are you implying," Vegeta snapped. "That I care for the weakling? I'd sooner kill her."

"No, my lord, just that you... you enjoy her. The last slave you had for about two weeks before you used her up and killed her. Callas keeps up with you." Bardock bowed low as he spoke. In her foggy mind, Callas was impressed with how bold he spoke to the Monster Prince.

Nappa snorted. "You can get whores anytime, my prince. Kill her if you like."

"I would not advise that," Brolly inputted, then said nothing more. Bardock stood, waiting for the prince to speak.

"As if I need any of you to tell me what to do," Vegeta muttered. He glanced back at Callas and she felt her heart stop, if only for a moment. Her head cleared almost immediately and she felt adrenaline start pumping through her body when her heart began again. As he stared at her he barked an order to Nappa, "Find me the ones that did this to her. Bring them to me alive."

"Yes, my prince," Nappa said, took a deep breath of the scents in the room, bowed, and took his leave.

"Brolly," Vegeta said.

"My prince."

For a moment, nothing was said; Vegeta merely looked over Callas. She wished he would look away. She felt shame, weakness, vulnerability—and she hated it.

"When the men that did this to her are found, they will be brought to her, so they can do as they wish with her..."

Callas's eyes widened and she stared at him in disbelief. _Did he really mean this? Why? What was the point?_

Vegeta watched her closely. "Again... and again," he smiled, "Until she understands that she is not safe anywhere but with me or her personal guard." He then glanced at Bardock and said, "Who will never leave her alone again."

"Yes, my lord..." Bardock said in a pained voice.

"And then, Callas," Vegeta said softly. (_He never says my name_...) "You will be sentenced to two weeks in the whore's quarters, where you will service anyone and everyone who asks such a thing of you." (_What?_)

"Prince, how is that going to solve anything?" Bardock inquired.

"Do not question me!" Vegeta growled. "If she wants to _explore_ the palace and see what's out there, I might as well let her see." He turned his attention back to the red-haired woman. "You just see how everyone else treats you. You will be begging to come back here. Maybe this will get rid of that rebellious streak of yours."

_I thought you liked that about me,_ Callas thought blandly. Her mind was having trouble processing this punishment. It seemed... it seemed too much. It wasn't Prince Vegeta at all. Sure he was cruel to her, he hit her, he bit her, he fucked her like an animal; but to let someone else do this? It lessened who she was. She was his; nobody else's.

"Brolly, take her to an empty pleasure room," Vegeta ordered.

Brolly nodded and began to step towards Callas, who immediately started to scream. "NO! No, no! I hate you all. I hate you, you stupid fucking monkeys! First you take me from my planet, you take it, destroy it, you take Gokuh, you destroy me! And now, when I make one stupid god-damn mistake, one that I have ALREADY paid for with... with... myself... Vegeta, please! I am being punished right now!"

Brolly picked her up, oddly careful of her arm, but she twisted away, letting her feet hit the ground and attempting to fling herself towards the Monster Prince.

Face contorted in hatred, pain, fear, she screamed more at him, though his face was impassive. "Please! Don't do this to me! I promise it will never happen again. I promise! I"ll be good! I.. I don't want to be anyone else's. Just yours. I.." Pain wrenched through her as Brolly pulled her back. She cried out, coughed and then continued in more of a whimper, "I don't want to be anyone else's. I belong to you. Don't let someone else have me!"

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing. Callas glanced over at Bardock and pleaded with him instead. "Please, Doc? Bardock, please. Say something. Help me! Save me, please!" The pain on his face was readable but she could see his resolve lay with his prince's decisions. Anger welled up inside of her and she turned on Brolly, hitting him with the tiny bit of strength she could muster, which was as pathetic as the show she was probably putting on for them all.

"Fine, then. Fine, god damnit. Fuck you! I hate all of you. I hate you so much. And YOU, prince. You are a monster. MONSTER PRINCE! I hope you burn in hell. I will never, never like you." She spat at him, rage spiking her adrenaline even further and she pulled at Brolly, surprisingly making him work to hold her back. "I hate you so much, I HATE YOU!" She screamed, feeling a warmth in her middle and she drew upon it. In an instant, the ki bonds around her neck and wrists short-circuited, sending shocks through her that immobilized her for a second. Suddenly she could feel all of her power welling through her, and even though she hurt like hell, she made an instinctive decision to use the power. She screamed with rage again and immediately Bardock was attacking Brolly and she was shoving her shoulder against the Monster Prince's chest, pushing him back against the transparent stone window with enough force that spirals of cracks spread out radially from the impact point.

"I hate you, Vegeta," Callas snarled, her face right up against his. She could see bewilderment and arousal in his eyes and it made her hate him even more.

It was as if time froze. She could make a choice here. She could either punch him in the face and risk the punishment he decreed and worse, or she could kiss him and hope for the best.

So she kissed him with as much hatred as possible.


	21. Is This Going to Work?

A/N: I had some writer's block trying to get through the next chapters. I worked through them the best way I think each of the characters would react and how the story flowed best. I hope you guys like it. I have about 7 more chapters written that I am editing and trying to make sure it flows well. If you catch any mistakes, let me know and I'll change them/correct them/whatever needs to be done. Now, for the summary I promised:

In the last chapter, Callas was raped and abused by a couple of Saiyans. She was found by an Elite guard who introduces himself as Brolly. He brings her back to Vegeta, who proceeds to throw a temper tantrum and break her arm, as well as sentencing her to some nasty punishments. Callas rebels and her energy sparks, breaking her ki bonds and causing a fight to break out.

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 21  
**Is This Going to Work?**

8.2.2011

updated 8.31.2012

_Bardock's mind was foggy and all he could think about was the uncontrollable urge to protect the red-haired goddess. Callas, so beautiful and vulnerable. He couldn't let Brolly take her, no matter what. He would die protecting her..._

At least, that was what he had been thinking when he attacked Brolly. The two of them scuffled, Brolly taken by surprise but gaining the upper hand quickly and efficiently. When Bardock had his mind back, he held his hands up.

"Wait, wait! What's going on?" Bardock shouted.

"You attacked me!" Brolly snapped, but stopped his assault.

"The prince," Bardock said and they both turned their attention to Vegeta and Callas whom were both... kissing.

Brolly blinked and Bardock cursed, "What in the name of the warrior gods is going on?! Weren't you two just screaming at one another?"

Callas put her head down so the prince could speak. "Violence is arousing," he smirked, though he pushed the slave off and stood. She yelped quietly though they all heard her. Bardock longed to take her to a Regen-Tank. He wondered just how much longer she would stay conscious in her current state. Then Vegeta turned to Callas and with his back to the other Saiyans, adjusted his uniform and lifted her so that she was in the position he wanted. Then he proceeded to couple with her. It was brief, carnal, and it seemed more painful for the slave than pleasing, but when he let her drop she said nothing about it, just moved so that she could stare up at him with a mixture of emotion Bardock could not comprehend.

Vegeta fixed his uniform and stared at the two guards expectantly, so Bardock spoke up, "Prince, I apologize, I do not know what came over me." He looked at Callas. Had she done something with the powers she had over the mind? Controlled him?

"Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one you attacked," Vegeta sniffed. Then he glared down at Callas for a long moment before continuing, "Disregard my earlier orders." He seemed to be fighting internally. "It's true, I don't want others to touch what is mine. She knows that much about me." He reached down and grabbed her hair, pulling her up and speaking in a deadly soft voice, "But you will be punished."

Callas's voice wavered as she said, "Yes, my master. Yes."

Prince Vegeta let go of her and she slumped to the ground. "Brolly, take her to the medical bay. Get her into a tank as soon as you can. Stay with her until Bardock comes to relieve you."

"Yes, my prince," Brolly nodded. He passed Bardock on the way to Callas, watching him cautiously as he did so, but the older man did not attack him this time. Then, lifting the woman into his arms, Brolly left the room.

Bardock turned to Prince Vegeta and said, "I will get servants up here to clean this up, make the room presentable again."

"Yes, and get a tech up here to fix the door, heighten the security, and make sure nothing like this happens again," he hissed in reponse.

"Of course, my lord."

Vegeta looked at him and for a moment Bardock could see the youth in him, so unlike the King and so unlike the Prince he tried so hard to be; he seemed lost and confused, strangely vulnerable. "She could have died."

"Yes, my lord... I take full responsibility for it."

"She could have died here, in the safety of the palace, and we plan on taking her with us into war? She will never survive," Vegeta growled softly, ignoring the older Saiyan's claim. "What are we doing?"

Bardock frowned. It was all his fault this happened. First he had left her, then he turned off her ki bonds. "She had no way to defend herself, Prince. I turned her ki bonds on. She could have protected herself otherwise, I promise you. Her training really has been remarkable." He swallowed before continuing. "In fact, you saw what her training did today."

Vegeta stared at nothing and searched his mind. "The ki bonds. She broke them." They both turned and looked at the remains of the bonds. They had broken apart where the connectors were and sparks of electricity would spit back and forth every so often. "What power can break through those? It can't be ki energy, but what other types of organic power are there?"

The only other person that had caused trouble with ki bonds had been Gokuh early on, but they had all merely assumed that a Saiyan's power would be harder to control. Callas was only a human. However, she was the human Bardock dreamt about. Supposedly the saviour of the Saiyans. There was obviously something different about her.

"Psychic," Bardock answered almost immediately. "The mind. The spirit. These are not the same as life force energy... not exactly."

"Did you learn anything of her mind-reading, then?"

"No, sire, I had not the chance before... before all of this."

Vegeta growled, thinking about that lavender-haired scientist and her Dirlatranisian pet.' "Are all humans this... this uncouth and idiotic!?" He shook his head and cursed. "What is wrong with these two? And why has the universe seen fit to stick ME with them?"

Bardock looked down with a small smile. "Because they are destined for great things, and so are you, my prince. Intertwining destinies are not such a bad thing."

"So says you," Vegeta said with a grunt and began to leave the room. As he walked by Bardock he stopped, pressing his face close. "And Bardock? Don't forget where your loyalties lie. You serve me. Not Callas, not her sister, not Fate."

"Never, my lord. I am loyal only to the King and Prince of Vegetasei." Bardock felt his stomach jump up into his throat. Was the Prince questioning his loyalties, truly? He was being too soft with these sisters. But... at this point, how else could he handle them? It was too much to deal with. He had always been different, and these powers amplified his weakness for emotion.

"You are getting awfully close to my slave, Advisor," Vegeta said in a low voice. "See to it that you don't let your emotions get in the way."

"Never, my lord," Bardock repeated.

"Good," Vegeta snorted and walked off. "Now get this cleaned up and help Nappa find the ones that defiled the Prince's slave or I'll take my anger out on the both of you. Oh, and we'll talk later about your little attack on Brolly."

"Of course, sire," Bardock nodded as he left, though he had no answer for the Prince currently.

_Poor Callas, you just made things a lot worse for yourself. If the Prince doesn't do anything about those two, I'll kill them myself. After all, it's my fault they were even able to lay a hand on you. _

_Callas, I'm so sorry... _

/

Nappa and Bardock knelt before the King and Prince in the throne room with empty hands. The only other ears in the room were guards at the door, and they were extremely good at keeping everything they overheard to themselves. It was nearing the end of Third Sun and soon First Sun would rise in the sky. Everyone was tired and cranky and Bardock was unhappy that he and Nappa could not bring the men that hurt Callas to their punishment. Prince Vegeta was also unhappy, while the King seemed bemused by the whole situation.

"They will turn up," the King said, "one way or another." He ran his fingers through his beard and leaned back in the throne.

Prince Vegeta paced up and down the stairs that lead to the throne's platform and he growled, "It irks me that they think they have gotten away with touching what belongs to me."

Nappa laughed gruffly and replied, "I think they might be hiding and shitting themselves, now that they have had a few hours to really think over what they did tonight. We will find them when we walk by the two that smell most like fear and treason."

"And shit, I suppose," the King murmured with a tired smirk. He sighed and stood up, all eyes turning to him. "Well, comrades, son; I am tired and I have several whores waiting in my bed, so you will forgive me if I retire. Or not, it does not matter. I am king, after all." He eyes his son. "However, because your slave girl is technically a member of our army reserves and being that she is your personal property, what these mystery Saiyans have done tonight will be seen as a personal affront to the Royal House." Then he turned his gaze to the big burly Battlemaster.

"Nappa."

"Yes, my liege," Nappa tilted his head up, ready for action.

"Spread the word around that those who defiled the Prince's property would do well to turn themselves, but either way they will be found and punished at the discretion of Prince Vegeta."

At this, the King's son allowed a cold smile to grace his lips. "Thank you, father."

"Dismissed. Get some rest," King Vegeta then said, turning on his heel and heading out of the throne's chamber. Nappa quickly followed him out and the guards at the door did the same.

Bardock turned to his prince and asked, "Shall I relieve Brolly now?"

"Hm?" Vegeta furrowed his brow, then realizing he should answer, nodded and waved him away.

Bardock bowed and began to leave, though he turned back to add, "You should get some rest, Prince. Her room should be clean and fixed by now, if our slaves and servants are competent. You could rest there..." He stopped there, uncertain as to whether the Prince would be angry at suggesting an emotional connection between him and his slave. However, the Prince seemed to be lost in thought, so he left him alone. Guards stood watch outside the throne room doors and Bardock nodded to them as he passed.

He quickly made his way through the palace hallways towards the medical bay. _I hope Brolly was able to secure a Regen-Tank for Callas. _Then his mind wandered to the lavender-haired beauty that befuddled him so. He wondered how she was getting along. The guards and workers that would clean up the mess were probably getting an earful from her.

As the Royal Guard walked, he passed a few guards and even fewer servants. It was far past Third Sun and everyone was resting (or whatever else they might do in the privacy of their homes and rooms during the darkest blood red sunrise). Each Saiyan he passed, he scrutinized. Was that the one that touched Callas? Was he the one that slammed her against the floor? Or maybe it was him that punched her in the gut. None of them smelled like her or the scents he had filed away in his memory from earlier.

Once inside the medical bay, Bardock quickly found Brolly. He had, in fact, secured a Regen-Tank, one of the newer models in fact, much to the dismay of the medical assistant trying to persuade him to take the slave out.

"She's just a slave, sir," he said in a pitiful voice. For a Saiyan, he was small and frail-looking. Bardock presumed he was not full-blooded. "We need that tank for Saiyans."

Brolly ignored the man and stared straight ahead, standing in front of the tank so that nobody could get close enough to unlock and open it. He was big enough that he proved a real obstacle, not to mention he was obviously of Elite stature. Brolly's blank stare focused when he noticed the older Saiyan, and he tipped his chin up at him. Bardock approached and waved the assistant away, who sighed and finally left, realizing he would get nowhere with them right now.

Bardock glanced behind Brolly at the tank and saw a glimpse of red hair floating in the thick healing liquid. "Brolly, comrade, I have no idea why I attacked you earlier, but it was not my intention."

Brolly held his gaze and nodded. "I see. Then why did you?"

Bardock furrowed his brow and thought. The last thing he remembered was seeing Callas's ki bonds crackle and release, then his mind went blank before... before being overcome with a strange, lulling warmth and the strongest desire to protect someone he had ever felt, even more so than protecting his own brood. "The most I can say," he began slowly, "is that I felt this overwhelming urge to just... protect. It overrode everything inside me."

"You are becoming too attached to her to protect her like a mate," Brolly said very quietly. Bardock almost did not catch all the words. At least, the most important word: mate.

Bardock shook his head vehemently. "No. I mean, yes. I am becoming too attached to her... I admit." Bardock felt his cheeks heat up and he kept his voice almost a whisper. "But no, not like a mate. No, it was something else. Like I was overcome with this strange desire, like it was not necessarily my own, but maybe... maybe something tapping into it?"

Brolly lifted the corner of his mouth in a slight smile and shook his head, "You speak strangely. None of the humans brought here have ever showed any adeptness at powers other than manipulating ki, and that seems like some sort of mind control." He cut himself off and his face become very thoughtful again. Finally he asked, "Is she?"

Bardock stared evenly back at the taller warrior and answer, "I cannot answer that with certainty." He decided to change the subject. Letting others know about her powers (or lack thereof) seemed like a bad move right now. An element of surprise always worked best in battle, and keeping a trump card was even better. "How much longer?"

"A few hours."

"I'll take over then."

Brolly nodded. "She _is_ your responsibility."

Bardock stepped forward and took the other man's place, glancing in at Callas though the viewing window. She seemed more frail than usual, like she had when she was sick. When he turned to settled himself in, he was met with a fist to the face. He swore and looked back up at Brolly, who smiled a little wider than usual and walked off.

"Pay back, whether you intended to attack me or not."


	22. Breakdown

A/N: Another one? Sorry. I thought you guys might be interested to see what Callas looks like. In case you haven't found your way to my deviantART page already. Just take out the spaces or retype it in the address bar if you want to see them.

fav. me/ d2a8y5i – Callas on Chikyuu, listening to music.

fav. me/ d4xdhv4 – Callas in her battle uniform

julieloveart. deviantart gallery/ ?q=callas#/ d28krsa – First sketch of Callas

/ /

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 22  
**Breakdown **

11.3.2011

updated 8.31.2012

Waking up inside a Rejuvenation Tank was a bizarre experience. The buoyancy of being in liquid was like swimming at home, going underwater and sitting at the bottom of the pool, slowly lifting up and reaching the surface. Except, here there was no surface to reach. Callas just existed in this thick, yellow-green liquid. She started to panic but her mind shut itself down as she did her best to think about anything but why she was in here. She focused on feeling everything around her.

A breathing apparatus was strapped around her nose and mouth, but her eyes were left uncovered. The liquid slid over her eyes and tingled a moment but then she felt like she could live in this stuff without being uncomfortable. If, of course, she was not stuck in a very small container. She was not by any means claustrophobic, but this tank was just far too small. She wondered how all of the big, bulky Saiyans even fit in this.

It was hard to see out the window in front of her, but she could see someone standing in front of the tank. Her hair floated up in front of her and she moved her hand up to push it away. The person in front turned and moved towards the tank, disappearing out of view. They must have done something to the control panel because the liquid seemed to become less thick and presently it started draining. Down, down, down, and her hair and limbs floated down with it until she was back under control of Vegetasei's gravity. She blinked her eyes clear and reached up to the apparatus on her face. As she tugged at it, trying to figure out how to get it off, the door hissed, slid forward and then up to reveal a familiar face.

Bardock reached in and easily unhooked the breathing machine and pushed it behind her. Little suction-trodes kissed her body and he pulled those off easily and shoved them away before pulling her out. He was not being overly gentle, nor very rough, but Callas dared not say anything to him. She stood on legs that threatened to collapse if she did not keep her mind away from the overbearing darkness in her thoughts. Glancing down, she noticed she was not wearing anything, and if she had any decency left she might have blushed.

"Here," Bardock said, shoving a large cloth of some sort at her. She wrapped it around her body, her long wet hair plastered to skin and very much in the way. "Let's go."

Callas looked up to see her protectorate looking at her blankly from the doorway. She glanced around, seeing all the other Regen-Tanks on and in use before following him. He lead her out of the medical bay, and on the way out, she noticed that a Saiyan was being hauled into the room they left, no doubt to use the tank she just left.

Bardock lead them back towards her room in silence. The only sounds were his boots tapping the marble floor and her bare feet slapping against it. Callas half-expected him to turn abruptly and take her to the Pleasure Quarters, where she would stay until she died. Prince Vegeta had been so angry-

_Don't think about it,_ she told herself. She could not afford to break down in the middle of the palace. Instead she focused on how her previously broken arm was fully healed. She felt healthy and normal physically. She wasn't sure if it was the thick liquid or her previous experience in the palace, but she felt dirty and deperately wanted a shower.

When they reached her own quarters, she fully expected the prince to be there, waiting ominously in the shadows to break her neck. He was not here, however. When she reached out to feel for him, she felt nothing. It surprised her. It also surprised her to find that Bardock was feeling apprehensive, almost nervous around her, and that ever-present worry for her was still underneath it all which made her feel a little more normal.

_I must be so wrapped up in... what I... to notice other's feelings for once,_ Callas's thoughts stumbled around. _I can't decide if that is a good thing or not. I've never been too good at blocking other people out... but I wouldn't have done it this way. _She reached up to feel for her ki bonds and realized they weren't there at all. _At least it was nice to have those blocking everyone out. What happened to them?_

A flash of her attacking the Monster Prince and her ki flaring out entered her mind.

Callas stood in the middle of the room. It had been cleaned up already. No blood, nothing broken. Certain pieces of furniture were missing or replaced as necessary. The transparent stone window was still cracked, though. Not as easy of a fix as the other things.

_I really did all this, _she thought slowly. Her eyes wandered until they found a comfortable place on the plush red carpet at her feet, toes curling into it. Now... _I have no idea what I should do. I think... I think I want to die._

Callas felt her face screw up, and she clenched her jaw. She would not cry, and especially not in front of Bardock. Her hands balled into fists and she shoved her jagged fingernails into her palms. She pressed harder and harder, intending to cause pain and blood rather than cry.

_I want to die._

Her physical pain was gone now, but the pain inside was unbearable.

"Are you... alright?" Bardock asked, his voice seemed strained and full of his usual worry.

It made her snap. She felt like a brittle piece of foliage, cold and dead, unwatered and exposed for winter. And his voice was like the wind, blowing and causing her to break. Callas crumpled to the floor and heaved out gasps and sobs. It took less than a second and he was next to her.

"Are you still hurt? Do you need to go back to the medical bay?"

In between her pitiful sobbing, she laughed. It was probably the strangest thing Bardock had ever heard, she realized, as she looked at his bewildered face. She sniffled and tremors wracked through her frame as she abruptly turned and grabbed hold of him. She felt him tense for a fight, but all she wanted was a bit of comfort.

It was the first time she had wanted her mother to be with her, to cuddle and worry over a boo-boo in a very long time. Bardock was not the best nor the worst choice for this. At least Callas trusted him, as much as she could trust a Saiyan.

Finally he let himself relax a little and put his arms awkwardly around her. "I, uh... don't think I've ever seen you quite this... upset."

Callas snapped between sobbing, "I look pitiful! I kn-know. I've never b-been completely and uh-utterly... rr.. r.. raped l-like that before!" Saying it outloud just made her feel worse, dirtier, more unworthy of living. She grasped him tighter and felt her throat burning as she cried harder. Her sobs turned into screams of anger and hurt. She pushed against him and hit his chest, all the while he took it, watching her quietly and helplessly.

When she calmed for a few seconds he said, "Callas... you left the room."

"I know," she said bitterly, hiccuping. "I was so fucking stupid." More tears began to roll out of her eyes. She was starting to wonder if she would ever be wrung dry of liquid. Maybe she would dehydrate herself in the process. Great. "So, so stupid. Don't you think I regret it?"

She looked up at Bardock and found she could not feel his emotions, hers were too much, too overwhelming right now. He looked sad, angry, uncomfortable, and nervous. "I really messed up. I get it. It's all my fault, I get it. I get it." She looked down and shook her head, pushing away from him. He stood almost immediately and took a step back. It made her feel worthless, like she was filthy and untouchable. She growled as more tears slid over her cheeks. Instead of breaking down in front of him again and looking even more pathetic and ridiculous, she stood and rushed into the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower," she mumbled, shutting the door and locking it behind her.

As she let the cloth drop to the floor, she heard the control panel on the outside beeping and the door hissed open. "Don't lock the door," Bardock said flatly.

"Fine," Callas hiccuped again and looked at herself in the mirror while Bardock stood in the doorway. "Did... did they do it because I am irresistible? Or just because I am off-limits?"

"Why does it matter?" Bardock asked. "It happened."

"I don't know," Callas said, suddenly seeing her body in a different way. Rationally she knew nothing was really different, but she felt like an alien in her own skin now. She wanted to crawl out and fly away as energy or stars or dust. Not this heavy tangible form. "Don't you find me irresistible, Doc?"

Bardock looked at the girl standing in front of him and let out a huff. "Take a bath, you'll feel better." He left, letting the door hiss shut behind him, careful to listen for the lock just in case she decided to try that again. He listened for the water and sat down on her daybed.

_Damn, she's having a hard time with this. On one hand, I feel bad for her. There is no telling what all the Saiyans did to her. She was in terrible shape before Prince Vegeta hurt her. And of course I want to destroy them for it_, he growled quietly._ Then again, she did bring this upon herself..._ Why was he having such a hard time with that last thought. It upset him to think that. What person would willingly walk into a situation that would get them physically and emotionally hurt like that.

_She probably thought she would be safe either by her abilities or her status as Vegeta's favorite plaything. Or the fact that she is supposed to be revered as a good luck symbol among us._ He snorted and stared at the floor._ I can't believe she did that,_ he thought abruptly, thinking about her small soft form pressed against him, crying in pain. He had no idea how to react to her, so he sat there impassively. Somehow he felt that was probably the incorrect response, but Saiyan women rarely ever did such weak emotional displays. No, theirs were strong, full of anger and violence.

Although, it had seemed as if she were angry too, not just sad.

_She's worried about seeing the Prince again, I bet. So am I_, he thought with a sigh. _I can't just leave her with all the blame anyway. I should have... no, it would be weak to admit to her that I felt at fault for some of this. Weakness. Why is this such a huge issue with everyone all the time? I am at fault for not protecting her better. Callas..._

Suddenly a tiredness crept over him that he did not want to fight. The controls on the front door were fixed, he had checked, and he locked it the moment they came in. He decided to take a short nap while she cleaned up. He would hear her when she came out.

/

Inside Vegeta's personal chamber, Nappa shoved two Saiyans in to the ground in front of him. They stayed on their knees and glance up at him. He was wearing black satin pants and nothing else. His tail flicked in irritation as he yawned.

"These are the two?"

"They smell like it," Nappa nodded.

Prince Vegeta circled them quietly, watching as they squirmed uncomfortable. Finally the uglier one said, "My Prince, what is it that we can do for you?"

Vegeta snarled at him as he spoke, "Silence!" The Saiyan looked down and waited, swallowing nervously. Eventually, when he felt his mere presence had intimidated them enough, he stepped forward and sniffed of the air around them. Rage and possessiveness pumped through his veins as he recognized the faint scent of Callas on them.

"You two touched something of mind," he began slowly, the rage quite evident in his voice. "In fact, I think you did a little more than that. You abused and fucked my favorite pleasure slave." His words were carefully chosen and enunciated. They both winced a little with each harsh word. "I do not like when others touch my things."

He stopped in front of them and put his face down on the same level as theirs. "What do you think I should do about that, hm?" The darkness danced in his eyes as he entertained all the possibilities that he had just been dreaming about.

In a low growl he quipped, "You are going to regret even looking her way." Then he grabbed their faces and shoved them to the ground. A night of pain was in store, and the Prince would revel in it.

/

Bardock snapped awake and looked around. He felt as if he had just dozed off, but wondered how long it had been. Maybe ten minutes? The sound of the water running could still be heard from the bathroom, but he decided to go and check just in case. He noted that the front door was still closed and locked as he went to the bathroom door and opened it. He felt his stomach drop at what he saw.

Callas sat curled in the corner of the stone basin, staring off at nothing. The water was so hot it was like a sauna in the room. Bardock rushed in and turned the water off. He felt of the water in the basin and jerked his fingers back.

"What the hell are you doing, now? Trying to burn yourself?" Bardock asked as he reached in and grabbed her naked body, pulling her out. She did not resist; she did not do anything except stand when he put her on her feet. He grabbed a black fluffy towel and proceeded to dry her off and wrap it around her. "Callas?"

She blinked but said nothing.

"Damnit, Callas, you can't do this. If you act like this,... you can't. The Prince won't allow it. He'll just kill you. We need you for the war, all able hands, remember?" Bardock talked to her as comfortingly as he could manage and pulled her out of the bathroom and to her bedroom. He sat her on her bed and the towel fell around her. "Maybe you just need some rest, right?" He let her down gently on the bed, her hair dripping onto the floor.

A terrible idea popped into his head. Why was he so terrible a man he would even think such things? He shoved it aside but then decided that maybe it would get a reaction and pull her out of this stupor. "Fine, you want to be that way?" he growled and put his arms on either side of her, face close to hers. "I'll give you something to be upset about, is that what you want?"

Slowly clarity brightened her eyes and Callas looked up at him. "Go ahead, Doc."

Bardock bared his teeth and after a moment of staring at one another he mumbled, "It... it wasn't your fault, Callas. If anything..." He sighed, "If anything, it was mine. I will not leave you alone again."

Callas's eyes seemed infinitely sad. "You didn't choose to leave without protection. I made that choice. I made a stupid choice."

"Everyone does. It's a part of life, girl."

"I feel like dying, Bardock."

Bardock shifted and put his hand against her face, rubbing some wet hair plastered to her cheek further away. "It will get better. Everything always does." After a few minutes, he pulled away and stood up. She turned on her side and curled into a fetal position.

As he began to walk away, she said, "Don't leave me."

"I'm just going to sit outside."

She eyed the over-plush chair in the room and he shook his head. He could only give so much. Prince Vegeta would be angry if he stayed in the bedroom. "I'll be right outside if you need me. Sleep. It will be better in the morning."

He started to leave again and she spoke again, "Why did I like it at the same time? And why do I like when... Vegeta... all the time?"

"If you are willing, I wouldn't call it rape..." he said hesitantly.

Through the darkness of the room he saw a dead smile spread across her lips and he shuddered. He really hoped that sleep would help heal some of her emotional wounds. He knew he couldn't.


	23. Get Over It

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 23  
**Get Over It**

11.3.2011

updated 8.31.2012

The next few days were quiet. Callas slept in her room, coming out to use the bathroom, bathe and drink. She refused food and did not want to be around others. Thankfully, Prince Vegeta did not seem interested in visiting her currently. Rumor had it that he was in the lowest levels of the Palace, torturing guards. The story spread like wildfire among the Saiyans of the palace and slowly spread out to the rest of the planet. The message was clear: Do not touch Prince Vegeta's possessions.

On the fifth day of Callas's reclusiveness, Bardock woke up with cabin-fever. He had not been able to train with his son or do anything but sit in this room watching her do nothing but mope. He had only so much sympathy. Today he was going to slap her into shape.

Brolly had actually been sent to continue training with Goku. At least he was getting more of a challenge now, Bardock thought.

When the bedroom door opened, strangely around First Sun like normal, he expected Callas to be her usual zombie self and shuffle towards the bathroom. Instead she stopped at the door and looked at him with an unreadable expression.

"Are we training today?" she asked.

And just like that, things fell back into a normalcy.

/

Brolly looked at his King, awaiting an answer to his question.

"I cannot quite say why I have allowed my son to further nurture this unhealthy obsession with his slave. But Bardock seems quite impressed that she is going to turn the tide of this war in our favor, maybe that is why."

"Bardock is infatuated with her."

"Of course he is," the King answered, popping a delicate strawberry into his mouth. "I do love this Chikyuuan fruit." He sighed and then said, "I have never seen Vegeta quite this creative with torture techniques, I must say. I do enjoy it quite a bit." A slow smile spread across his lips as he eyed the fruit in front of him.

"And you are alright with Vegeta showing so much open possession and affection for her by torturing these two?" Brolly asked.

"Of course. It's not affection, anyway, just possession. If someone dared touch one of my women, they would suffer unmercifully. Besides, she is technically also a member of our army against Freiza, and we need all the warriors we can get. To let this slide would be an affront on the Royal House, and we cannot have that."

"I do not understand much of what is happening around here," Brolly admitted.

"Yes, there is a lot that is changing," King Vegeta noted as he took another bite of strawberry. "Change is not necessarily bad, but it is hard. Much of our people are quick to adapt different customs and styles as long as it does not affect our own. These Chikyuuans have cause a large amount of change, for such a physically weak race."

"The war was the catalyst."

"The war was going to happen sooner or later. We should never have gone into business with Freiza, but it is too late for that now." The king looked at Brolly and frowned. "We need to pick a good place and lure that lizard tyrant there. Only when it is on ideal ground for us when we have all our strongest, that includes you Legendary One, will we win the war against the Ice Lizards."

"And then who will we be at war against?" Brolly asked, bitterness tinging his voice.

"Our existence is a tireless one, is it not?" he sniffed and took a drink of some wine. "Perhaps my son will find a way for us to live peacefully. I have lived in too violent an age with far less than all the comforts that are available to my people currently."

"The humans will be trouble in the end," Brolly offered.

King Vegeta looked at him for a long time and finally said, "Think about it, friend,." He toyed with another strawberry, mushing it between his fingers as he spoke. "Obviously we can produce offspring with other aliens, but we never take those aliens as mates, and none of them are quite as attractive as the humans are to us. Humans are the most compatible with our species as we have ever come across. No more Saiyan females are being born. There is no way for us to reproduce purely. We must come to rely on them whether by partnership or force."

"No," the king said and licked the strawberry juice off his fingers. "Bardock's visions were right. The humans will be our salvation, one way or another."

/

Callas cringed more often during training now. She did her best to put everything out of her mind for the battles they did, but seeing a Saiyan come at her aggressively all but put her on her knees to beg to be left alone. The first day she was back to training, she was surprised to see Brolly and Gokuh already deep into training. Bardock and she joined in, but they both quickly realized just how outmatched they were. So to ease her back into training after the days she missed, Bardock trained with her.

No matter how she tried, his face would always change into one of the Saiyans that attacked her. When he was charging her, she would see the spite and desire on the burly, ugly warrior's face and she would either drop to the ground in a fetal position or dodge to the point she was basically backing off to run away.

The first few days back in training, Bardock let it slide. Finally Brolly stepped in and made Bardock pair off with Gokuh while Brolly toughened the human back up. Callas did not appreciate this.

"Stop hiding behind your arms, they aren't going to do you any good," Brolly snapped as he grabbed her wrists and yanked them down. The fear that lit in Callas's eyes almost made him let go but he steeled himself and threw her away from him instead. "Fight me, or you are useless to us!"

Callas furrowed her brow and disappeared, reappearing to Brolly's side and attempting to kick his torso area. Brolly was actually impressed with how fast the human was, though really it was like a crawl to him in battle. He saw her coming and snatched her foot, pulling and twisting her in the air before throwing her up and shooting after her. "Turn and face me," he yelled.

Callas, who had been shielding her face and neck with her arms, pulled them away to reorient herself. She spun around until she could see Brolly speeding up at her framed by all of her red-hair trailing through the air after her body. She glared at him until his face morphed into one of the scum that had taken advantage of her and her body froze over with anxiousness and fear.

Brolly slowed in front of her and stopped before he reached her. "You have to fight whatever it is you are going through and face it, or you will let this fear control every aspect of your life, girl."

Callas blinked and looked at him. He was Brolly again. She hated that she was doing this! She had hoped that after a few days she would be able to snap out of it, but her whole body just quit responding and her mind went numb. Each night she would wake up from a nightmare about the whole experience, and each night Bardock would be there rather than Vegeta.

She actually found herself missing the Monster Prince.

Both her and Bardock were missing out on sleep, that was for sure. It seemed like her hallucinations during the day were getting worse. Was it really just fear that she needed to conquer? Or was she slowly going insane. Maybe she was dead by those Saiyans's hands and this was her personal hell.

Brolly's attack came out of nowhere. He slammed his elbow into her shoulder and she hit the ground within a second. When she managed to reorient herself yet again, she pushed herself to her hands and knees and stood up, dirt all over her with blood smeared on her skin. Brolly was already standing in front of her and she squinted her eyes, expecting another hit before she could react. When it did not come, she opened her eyes to see him glaring at her in disappointment.

Callas swallowed and looked at the ground, disappointed in herself.

Bardock and Gokuh ceased their spar and came over to them. It was almost Second Sun anyway, and they would need to quit shortly.

"I think you need to face the two that attacked you," Brolly said tersely.

Gokuh frowned. "I don't know how that would help. Don't you think it will just upset her?"

Bardock replied, "It could also help." He looked to Callas. "What do you think about it?" When she did not respond, he continued, "You need to do something Callas. You were making so much progress before—"

"Before I went and screwed it up," she muttered.

"You made your choices, now you have to deal with them," Brolly snapped, his patience with her obviously wearing thin. He took a deep breath and sighed, his ever sorrowful eyes regaining their sense of calm and control. "Look, you even have a choice as to how you deal with this unacceptable act that was done to you."

"Unacceptable?" Callas questioned. "It is unacceptable for others to touch me, but the Prince can do what he wants?"

"Are you really complaining?" Bardock jabbed, then regretted it immediately as he realized it was counterproductive to the conversation. "Really, though... Saiyans don't generally condone taking what is another's unless you are taking spoils from war or taking from the weak. As the Prince's slave, they had no right to even look at you, despite the fact that you were in the wrong in the first place by leaving."

"Besides," Brolly interjected. "Rape is not really a common thing among Saiyans, no matter what you might think. We have pleasure slaves for a reason, and we generally don't try hurt them. They are comfortable and well-taken care of, though some races are just physically weaker and unable to take the life for long. You can't blame all of us for the actions of a few."

Callas snorted. "Logic, pfeh."

Gokuh had nothing really to add to the conversation, she noticed, but he watched his superiors with indiscernible interest. Callas had been having trouble identifying what others were feeling around her with how messed up her mind and emotions were lately. Initially it was a relief to be able to feel only herself, but now it was becoming crippling to her.

"Maybe I should face them..." Callas said aloud. She nibbled her lower lip as the Second Sun bells rang loud in the atmosphere. They all began to walk out of the garden area they trained in. "Would I be able to punch them in the face?" She asked Brolly hopefully.

"I bet if you ask Prince Vegeta nice enough, he might even let you kill them," Brolly said with the scariest smile Callas had ever seen on him.

"You guys really _are _upset at how they treated me," Callas said in a wonderful moment of awed realization. "Aren't you?"

"Like I said," Brolly offered, "Not all Saiyans treat women like they do."


	24. The Terrible Punishment

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 24  
**The Terrible Punishment**

11.7.2011

updated 9.1.2012

It was over three weeks before Prince Vegeta showed back up in Callas's room. She was sitting at the still cracked clear stone window when he came into her room. She supposed it was going to stay as a reminder of her poor decision and terrible punishments. She could live with that, overall. The door unlocked and opened, and Bardock greeted him. Callas turned from her window and bowed low to the ground, not meeting his eyes or even looking at him. There was silence around them, and it was suffocating.

"I hear you would like to punish the two that attacked and raped you," the Monster Prince finally spoke.

Callas nodded.

"Admirable, from a human weakling that got pulverized by them." He snorted in disdain and walked forward until she had no choice but to see his white boots. They were stained with blood splatters. "Just what do you think you could do against them?"

Callas lifted her head some but continued to stare at his boots. Suddenly his hand was in her hair and pulling her up to look at him. She dreaded seeing one of her aggressor's faces on the prince, for it would ruin her life. However, he was just the Monster Prince, glowering and awaiting a response. "Well?" he asked.

She steadied her breathing and made sure her voice would come out confident and strong. It would not do to show him just how weak she had been lately. She could only hope Brolly and Bardock had not already told him of her cowardly behaviour. "I am confident I would have beaten them both in combat, if my ki bonds had not been activated."

"If," Vegeta sneered. "Well," he said, pondering a thought. She could see the idea dancing behind his dark eyes. "How about I let you show me just how you could have beaten them, hmm?"

"You mean—" she began, but he cut her off.

"Yes," he grinned evilly. "It has already been set up. Brolly informed me of your desire, so to show you just how much of a nice prince I am, one who takes care of his possessions, I decided to set up an arena fight just for you to prove yourself against these two Saiyans. It's open to the public, of course, so you will have all of the planet watching to see whether you succeed for fail."

He let her hair go and she dropped to her knees, staring up at him, not quite sure whether to thank or curse him. She would be given a chance to prove that she was not a weakling after all; she would be given a chance to face her fears and destroy them. But she would also be facing against the two Saiyans that destroyed her confidence, that took everything away from her and broke her like even the Prince of all Saiyans could not do. She would be facing these men from her nightmares in front of all the other Saiyans on the planet. And if she failed, she would be failing the King, Bardock, Gokuh, herself, and worst of all, the Prince... again.

Suddenly, her life depending on winning this arena match.

"Wh-when is it?" she asked.

"Tomorrow, just before Third Sun," Vegeta answered, eyeing her as she thought about everything. He kneeled in front of her and put his gloved hand against her cheek, almost tenderly, before snatching her jaw and pulling her forward. "I hope you can prove that you were worth all the trouble and effort I have put into you."

He crushed his lips against hers and Callas whimpered. She remembered their passionate nights and a large part of her wanted another. The other part cringed at the idea of physical closeness, and she could feel herself recoiling. When his lips were gone, he gave her one last dark look before getting up and walking towards the door to leave. Bardock remained standing near the door as he had been at the beginning of the whole exchange. Callas saw his expression guarded and tried to reach out and feel what he was feeling, though it did not work.

Just as Vegeta was reaching for the interface panel to open the door, he said, "It is my desire that you face them like a true Saiyan, despite not being one by blood." Then he left.

Bardock seemed stunned by the Prince's words as he locked the door behind him. He looked over to Callas and she stared back at him.

"I guess he does not hate me quite so much now," Callas said softly.

"I doubt he hated you through this whole ordeal, more misplaced anger at the two that hurt you."

"His property..." she said somewhat bitterly.

Bardock said nothing and she knew it was the best she would ever get. After a moment of both Saiyan and human being lost in thought, the Saiyan said, "You better get some rest. We'll train you hard tomorrow during First Sun so you can rest through until the arena match."

Callas nodded and stood, heading for the bedroom. She slept without dreaming that night.

/

Callas put on her training spandex and slid her favorite simple dress over it, though it was worn and tattered now. If she survived, she wondered if she could ask Prince Vegeta for another one. Apparently, even though Chikyuu was essentially destroyed and sold to another race of aliens to become a vacation spot, there were still tons of authentic goods that were popular throughout the universe and especially on Vegetasei. Cotton and silk were two of them, along with coffee beans, chocolate, and weapons of all sorts.

She eyed the armor she owned for training and put her fingers on it. Strangely she felt it would not do her any good. Either she would beat them or she would not, but the confining armor was not going to help her. She she skipped pulling it over her head and went straight to putting on her boots and pulling her hair back into a long ponytail.

When Bardock escorted her through the palace, he asked why she had not put on her armor, and she shrugged. He did not like the idea of it, but they did not have time to fight about it so he let it go. She assumed he had the same thought process about it as she did.

Callas had not been put in ki bonds since that night when she broke them off. She never understood why they didn't just replace the faulty ones, but had not complained about it. So tonight she did not need them removed for the fight. She felt it made her more of a warrior in the Saiyan's eyes that she passed in the hallways. Most seemed impressed by her outward confidence, some seemed to scorn her, and others just gave her a hungry look that made her want to gouge out their eyes. Well, after tonight she would make them all respect her. She had to. Or she would die. She had a feeling no one would come to her rescue otherwise.

The arena was actually outside of the palace and off of Royal Grounds. When they exited the main palace doors, Bardock snatched her up and held her like a prince holding a princess he was saving. It was strange, and part of her rebelled against it, while the other enjoyed the closeness with someone she knew would not harm her.

It was strange to have warring 'other selfs' inside her all the time now. She smiled to herself.

Bardock flew them a good ways away from the palace and as they approached a large colosseum type structure, Callas got to see just how many Saiyans lived on this planet, and for how much the Prince and King mentioned their race's numbers dwindling, Callas was super impressed and intimidated by the massive quantity of Saiyans flying in and finding seats on the raised stone seats. They flew over to the back area of the colosseum and went through an open doorway that lead under the building. It was fairly dark and dank, and Bardock set her down but held her wrist and pulled her along with him.

"Will Gokuh be here?" Callas asked, nervously trying to distract the butterflies in her stomach.

"Everyone gets to attend an arena match like this, even those on lockdown. It gives them something to look forward to, and if they are on good behaviour, they get to go to the next one as well."

Callas smiled. She had a fleeting thought that if Gokuh were here, it would all be okay, but she quickly dismissed it. That was how it was on Chikyuu, not here. _Here I have to take care of myself. I just have to. No more relying on anyone else. Face my fears, like Brolly said. Make them respect me. I doubt they will ever fear me, so I have to bet on respect to keep something like this from happening again._

Bardock lead Callas through some stone hallways until they reached an open archway with the night Sun shining through, casting a half-circle on the ground in front of them. When they passed through the threshold, they were in the main battlefield of the arena. It was huge, actually, and Callas found herself impressed with Saiyan architecture yet again. She had grown used to the grandeur and Spartan style of the palace, but when she first saw it all she was actually pretty amazed. The stone benches were layered like colloseum seating, reminding her of home—baseball games. Not that she ever went to the stadiums for the games. No, she liked to mess around with the players afterward. The crowd was even more impressive than when they flew in. Apparently everyone on Vegetasei was interested in seeing her fight.

She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and mentally tried to boost her confidence. Bardock continued to drag her towards the middle area of the arena. As they walked, she managed to find Gokuh within the crowd. He was actually seated up near the front and he seemed anxious. He caught her eyes and their exchange was like a secret meeting. She smiled at it and turned away; if she looked at him for too long she might try to go towards him. When Bardock and Callas stopped walking, he faced her in the direction of an elaborate seating area that was extended forward and further up than the other seats. Both King and Prince Vegeta were sitting there with their personal guards, along with Battlemaster Nappa. Callas watched Prince Vegeta who was speaking with his father. A slight smile came over her, and she turned it into a scowl.

Callas was torn about her feelings towards him even more so than before. The way he hurt her after the incident with those two Saiyans; his anger; he was not healthy for her but she was addicted to him. She could think of those things and then turn right around and blissfully think about the way he kissed her and touched her, the way he gave into her demands, the way he gave her anything to make her happy. But he was the reason she was even a slave that had to make requests and ask for things. She was not free, but she was taken care of.

_I suppose it was good of him to let me confront these abhorrent bastards_, she mentally growled.

As if Vegeta could feel her eyes on him, he turned his gaze towards her and met her stare. Callas had sudden clarity with her Empathic power and it was like a tendril of invisible energy stretched towards the Monster Prince and only him. Presently she could feel the emotions coming off of him without being distracted by the enormous crowd, or herself.

_Satisfaction... _she thought vaguely. A grim, resolved satisfaction, almost giddy with expectancy. Her eyes widened. _Oh, no. What is he going to do to me?_

With that, Prince Vegeta stood and the audience quieted mostly. He walked forward on the balcony-like throne and yelled out, his raspy voice loud enough and bold enough to permeate even the furthest seated audience member.

"Welcome! Welcome, to one of the most intriguing matches we have seen on Vegetasei for quite some time. You have all heard talk of the red-haired warrioress that has become a good luck symbol for our war against the Ice Lizards, but few of you have seen her. Yes," Vegeta chuckled coldly, "I have kept her locked away for my own devious uses."

The crowd chuckled, several made hooting noises, and then quieted down.

"It has also been heard that she will help us win the war! I see many of you do not believe this. The match tonight has been set for several reasons. Firstly, to show you that she is not just a weak human. Secondly, to let her right wrongs done against herself, and in turn wrongs that were a personal affront to myself and the Royal House. Let it be a reminder to _everyone_... NOT to touch my property."

Vegeta nodded at a few guards below and they gestured to others in an open archway that Callas had not noticed underneath the Royal Pavillion. Callas felt her body freeze as some guards brought the two Saiyans she had initially hoped to never see again and shoved them on the ground near her. She eyed them with fear as they pushed themselves off the ground and stood tensely. She could see they had no pride left in their posture, their tails limp to the ground. They had more scars than she remembered, but otherwise they looked to be healthy in the physical sense of the word. This worried her; she knew now that Saiyans hurt and healed would increase in power.

_Will I be able to defeat them?_

The red-haired girl stared at the two of them, and they slowly looked her way. They seemed to be assessing her, not quite sure whether they were happy about this match up or not. Either way, they would probably die today. All three of them knew this. It was only a question of whether or not she would make it. The leathery face of the bulky Saiyan disgusted Callas, so she looked away. She flashed to the memory of his rough hands on her skin and wanted to vomit. The taller one, his malicious sneer caught her eye as she looked away, and he laughed out loud at her when she did.

"Scared, little cunt?" the taller one taunted. The bulkier one kept his mouth shut but Callas shot them both a withering glare anyway.

_I have to defeat them. I hate them. I hate them so much._ She felt her blood pumping faster through her, anger fueling adrenaline.

Prince Vegeta continued his speech and Callas continued her new mantra, _I hate them, I hate them, I hate them so much._ The Prince described in detail some of the horrible things he did to the guards, the most dreaded involving their tails, and the two guards that Callas was still eying seemed to shrink towards the ground at hearing what was done to them, as if the words themselves would start hurting them all over again.

"Finally, we are here to issue a punishment to my pretty little slave whore that disobeyed me."

Callas's eyes snapped up to the Prince, who was grinning evilly down at her. The crowd cheered and she felt as if she were going to faint. The crowds were spinning around her. Bardock steadied her quietly until she was able to blink and pull herself out of it. _To punish me? As if I haven't gone through enough?!_ Callas felt rage building inside of her. How dare he?!

"First," Vegeta continued, still watching Callas's reactions, "is the punishment."

At his words, another Saiyan—Brolly, Callas mentally noted—brought a struggling form out on the field. He dropped the person on the ground and pulled off the cloth to reveal a lavender-haired female. The crowd went wild. Many Saiyans enjoyed the exotic look of human females.

"Bulma!" Callas exclaimed. Her sister followed the sound of her voice and looked up at her. Fear and uncertainty shadowed her features.

"What is going on, Callas?" her voice shook as she stood up and dusted herself off. She was wearing a simple red dress that accentuated her busty features.

Callas only shook her head at her sister. She had several ideas and none of them were good. She frowned and looked up at Prince Vegeta, who motioned towards her. Bardock grabbed one of her arms and Brolly the other. She looked at both men in confusion for a brief second before beginning to struggle. If it were only Bardock, she might be able to break away, though after that she had no idea what she would do. She was surrounded by the enemy. Saiyans everywhere.

"Callas?" Bulma questioned, her eyes pleading both her and looking back at Bardock. Fear permeated the air around her.

Bardock and Brolly pulled her a little further away and Prince Vegeta spoke again,"Callas, for disobeying me and causing a commotion outside of your personal quarters, you get to watch what happened to you, happen to your sister."

"What?" Bardock hissed.

Brolly's reaction was normal. Stoic silence.

Callas fought harder against them both and screamed out, "No! No, don't! Please!"

Bulma looked around and then centered her eyes back on her sister. "What are they talking about Callas? What happened to you?" Her voice was getting higher, more shrill. She turned and noticed the other two Saiyans advancing on her. They looked up at their Prince once and then jumped towards Bulma.

"Get away from her," Callas shrieked. "I'll rip your dicks off, you stupid monkeys! Get away from my sister!" She pulled at the strong hands around her arms and felt them give a little. Bardock grunted as he pulled her back again.

The two Saiyans looked at Callas a moment and then grabbed Bulma, shoving her to the ground. She screamed and tried to claw at the ground and get away. The bulky, leather-faced one snatched her ankle and pulled her back, back-handing her across the face. Immediately a purple color lit across her face like fire, the bruise already forming. Bulma whimpered from the pain but otherwise seemed dazed.

The crowd was an amalgamation of noise—cheers, growls, animal noises, and angry disdainful sounds.

Callas looked on helplessly as her sister's pretty red dress was ripped into shreds. Her pale skin had red welts and scrapes already, bruises along her like patches. She was so fragile, and Callas could do nothing to protect her.

She looked across the crowd and her eyes met Goku's face. He was watching with anger and disgust, but a helplessness was also evident. Callas wished he was strong enough to do something about this. It was not fair. Her sister should not have to suffer because of her. But that was the whole point. Prince Vegeta was a monster and he would do anything he wanted to make Callas suffer if she ever did anything to cross him again.

Bulma's screams and cries of pain brought Callas back to the present and Brolly grabbed her hair and forced her eyes back to the scene in front of her. She wanted to retch. This shouldn't be happening!

"STOP!" Callas screeched.

The two Saiyans did not heed her. Instead they continued their physical and sexual assault on the lavender-haired woman below them. Neither seemed particularly happy or unhappy about it; she assumed they were following orders, which made her feel even angrier. Callas continued to scream at them, feeling her throat start to itch and burn from constant strain. When they were finished, they stood and adjusted their armor, leaving Bulma on the ground to curl into a fetal position and tremble, crying pitifully. They both turned to look up at the Prince, as if their duty to him was done. Callas glared hatefully at their backs, feeling her vision turning red. She wanted to make them hurt as much as they made her and her sister hurt.

"Let the slave go," Prince Vegeta ordered, "And take the other one off the battlefield."

Bardock and Brolly did as commanded and Callas stood frozen in her spot, shivering with rage. When Bardock passed her he said, "I'm sorry... Win this." Brolly said nothing, merely scooped Bulma up and they both made their departure from the field, along with the other guards near the archway they had came out of.

"Begin," Vegeta said dismissively and took his seat. The two Saiyan scum in front of her turned to face Callas. They glanced at once another and smiled grimly.

Callas felt something inside of her start to snap, little cracks shooting everywhere, spiralling out like the splinters in a breaking window. She had never felt such rage pulsing through her body. She gave them her own grim smile and snarled, "I am going to rip you apart from the inside... like you did to me."


	25. Becoming A Monster

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 25  
**Becoming a Monster**

11.7.2011

updated 9.1.2012

Callas launched at the two men in front of her, surprising them with her speed. She nailed the taller one in the jaw with her elbow, sending him flying back, and twisted so that the heel of her foot connected with the bulky ones neck. Without wasting time, she sped towards the bulky one and nabbed his wrist, spinning him around and tossing him up in the air.

Her ki energy spiralled up in power and she felt thrilled to stretch the limits of her own ability in this battle, even if it was over something terrible.

Callas flew up after him, but before she got too far off the ground, she was slammed into by a solid mass, shoving her into the stone on the opposite side of the arena. When she managed to stand up from the shock of the force, she saw the taller Saiyan grinning at her, body taut in a fighting stance.

"What is your name?" she asked him. "I want to know who I am killing." She spit at him, teeth bared in an unfriendly gesture.

He scoffed and said, "I am Erucar, and my friend is Kress. We will not be losing to a weak little human. We already had you once." He licked his lips and Callas snarled, pressing forward towards him. She was surprised from behind by Kress, who snatched her arms and held her back against him.

"Forgot about me, did you? Stupid," Kress laughed.

Erucar advanced and began an assault on her torso, punching and jabbing. The pain was agony, but Callas did her best to remember a worse pain, and it was not hard. She jerked her legs up when both his arms were near and grabbed them, twisting so that he turned and went face first into the dirt. Kress tightened his hold and pulled so tight she thought her arms might be pulled out of their sockets.

Erucar stood and slammed his fingers into the tender part of her thighs as he did, causing a knotting pain to develop. Callas shrieked in response. She began to wonder if it was hopeless, but a familiar power began to course through her. She quickly realized that her hair was wrapped around Kress and her skin was touching some of his, opening an electric channel between them that gave her a type of access to his energy. It was as if she could "see" it around her and the ease in which she could coax it to her was like breathing. She inhaled it in, letting Kress's energy soak into her skin, travel up through her hair and into her. His grip on her arms began to relax as she drained him.

Before the other Saiyan could hit her again, she released the built up store of energy she collected from Kress and sent Erucar flying across the stadium dazed.

With him gone, Callas continued absorbing the other's energy like another source of sustenance. Eventually he released her arms and she stepped forward, turning to face him, her hair still wrapped around his legs and slithering up to wrap even further around him.

Though she was wrapped up in the somewhat intimate act of taking his life energy, Callas was suddenly aware of the quiet stadium, everyone watching her. She looked up and saw Gokuh's face, fascinated and horrified at the same time. Others were impressed; others were in shock; even others were pleased at the turn of events. When she caught the Prince's eyes, she saw a calculating look, peppered with what she assumed to be pleasure at her ability.

Callas turned her attention back to the crumpled man in front of her. He looked pathetic more than something to fear now, so she pulled her hair back and left him the tiniest bit of life energy to survive off of... for now. Part of her really wanted to kill him, to take revenge for what he did, but with Gokuh watching she felt as if she could not. He might never see her the same.

She would never be the same.

Erucar was flying back towards her, enraged and powering up. Callas used the energy she had just sucked from Kress to power herself up further. She felt almost intoxicated on his power, more than she was used to. Her body felt electric and full. She caught herself laughing as she launched herself towards him as well. It was too easy for her to reach out and touch his mind with her Empathy. She could feel his rage and fear spurring him on, though fear from her almost killing Kress or from what Vegeta would do to him afterwards she could not discern.

When they reached one another, Callas used her speed to shoot just out of his grasp and reappear behind him, grabbing his tail and pulling as hard as she could. He roared with pain and turned to grab at her, though she dodged each attempt. She gathered ki in her hands and shot it out as she held onto the tail, incinerating his tail as she did. The agony in his eyes was worth it as he tumbled gracelessly to the floor of the arena. The crowd erupted in cheers and unhappy noises.

Deciding not to let him recover, for they never gave her that courtesy either, Callas sliced through the air after him and shoved her knee into his stomach shortly after he hit the ground. She felt her advantage over him fading as the energy she took from Kress was being used up.

"I hate you so much," Callas growled at him, narrowing her eyes as he looked up at her. His eyes pleaded for the agony to end, but his mouth was set firm. He was not going to speak. "I told you I was going to rip your dick off, but I think I'll burn it off instead," she said in a rough voice. His eyes widened and she grinned evilly, the type of grin she saw so frequently on the Monster Prince's face.

Callas gathered energy in her hands and pressed them against his groin, letting the heat build and build until he was screaming in horrible anguish. Then she released it, quickly jumping back away from him, and the whole lower half of him has been incinerated. Blood was slowly dripping onto the dirt.

"I see Saiyans bleed red blood too," she murmured, feeling powerful, feeling invincible. She stepped closer once again and kneeled next to him. He was convulsing and gasping in pain. "You look miserable," she whispered. "I'll put you out of your misery." She wrapped her slender fingers around his neck and then stopped. A glance up at Gokuh revealed the horror on his face.

_Kill or be killed_, she told herself, and then she looked up at Prince Vegeta. A quick tendril out and she could feel both shock and pride coursing through him. All because of her. She smiled at him and let the open passage from Erucar's skin to hers flood through, draining his life energy greedily. He was dead, skin already turning blue, eyes staring lifelessly up at her, in a matter of moments. She stood up and the crowd erupted in pleasure.

The red-haired warrioress could fight; she could win. She would help them. (Obviously; she fought for the Prince, as his behest, even after being punished.)

Prince Vegeta stood and hovered up off the balcony, a little further over the arena as if to get a closer look at her. He beckoned towards Kress, still alive. "Finish him, little warrioress."

Callas was shocked at the name. It was a big deal being called a warrior by the Prince! And her, a human no less! She hesitated a small moment, glancing at Gokuh, but she turned away quickly and walked over to Kress. His breathing was shallow, his pallor very white. She wished she had a knife, so she could cut off his penis and tail. It served him right to suffer before he died.

_I hate him. I want to make him suffer._

But a Saiyan's body was his weapon; not knives and machines. She had to be like a Saiyan. There was no other way if she wanted to survive.

So Callas used her hands. She clawed and pulled and ripped him apart. She had blood all over her and soaked into her white dress. Her long red hair fell in her way more than once, but she ignored it. The wind eventually picked up and blew it away. Finally, when the bulky Saiyan's cries were mere whimpers, she powered her hand up with Erucar's energy and shoved it through Kress's armour, right into his chest. Breaking past the sternum and into the fleshy soft part was a glorious moment for Callas.

All of her life she had felt this violence, this carnal desire to hurt others deep inside her. She kept it at bay for Gokuh, for her sister, for her life on Earth. She hid it because it scared her to feel these things. She was taught that taking other's life was wrong. Who was she to end someone's life?

_Who were they to take what they wanted from me?_ _I hate them. I hate them, I hate them!_

It was like giving in to something she always wanted... it was like when she would sneak out at night to party and experiment with cocaine or whatever drug was the flavour of the night. It was like when she experimented with boys _and_ girls. It was like when she had Gokuh's attention, and she could take what she wanted from him. Whatever she wanted, whenever.

Inherently, she fully realized and accepted this now. As she held up a bloody heart to the audience and for Prince Vegeta, Callas realized she really was a terrible human being.

She thought with a bloody smile, _I should have been born a Saiyan._


	26. The Shift

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 26  
**The Shift**

11.9.2011

updated 9.1.2012

Leaving the arena was a blur to Callas. The Saiyans poured onto the field to get a closer look at her. Bardock and Brolly rushed out to fend them off. No one did anything aggressive, but the massive overwhelming numbers around her put her on edge. She scanned the faces, mostly all males, though more females than she expected. Pale skin, tan skin, olive skin with all ranges of spiky hair, brown to black; rarely a lighter color than sugary brown. Brolly pushed through the crowd a few paces while Bardock had hold of Callas's forearms and guided her. She wondered why they did not just fly away. Instead they brought her back into the underground stone hallways away from the arena. No one followed them there.

Callas's body was humming with stolen energy. She felt drugged and high, her movements almost sluggish, and yet quick, precise at the same time. Everything she saw was painfully clear, almost too bright and bold in color, and every little edge was razor sharp in focus. Her limbs were so light she thought she might jump through the ceiling with each step. She had never felt so powerful.

It was definitely addicting.

_Definitely_, she thought as she glanced up at Bardock, his hand still on her forearm, guiding her along carefully and strongly, but without force. She could see, almost taste, the energy emanating off of him. Why had she never seen this before? It was hypnotizing, calling to her. She could easily access that tiny little bridge between their skin and pull it through her arm, inside of her. Pump it through her veins like blood and feed it to the rest of her body. _Oh, ecstasy_, she thought to herself. _Oh, how corny..._

She shook herself out of it. She needed to be alert. What would come next? But looking ahead of her she saw Brolly and the energy pouring off of him was like an orgasm waiting to happen. Surely he did not need all of that energy. Just how powerful was he? She reached forward, watching her fingertips approach him. So close... just a little bit... just...

"What are you doing?" Bardock hissed and snapped her back.

Callas felt dazed and smiled sheepishly as Brolly glanced back. His gaze left them quickly when he saw nothing out of the ordinary and they continued walking as if nothing happened. They could not see all of the energy surrounding her though. She wanted to be alone with it, to revel in it. Oh, but if she could have discovered this ability of hers earlier!

Their destination was the most elaborate room she had seen in this arena, and even considering that it was sparse. There were nice chairs, in which Royal bottoms were currently seated, a dark wood table, rugs on the floor, and tapestries on the wall. The Prince and King were waiting for their arrival and when the three of them entered and approached them, Callas stared at the energies pouring from the Royal Saiyans. It was rich and exotic. She could not wait to taste Prince Vegeta's.

Brolly and Bardock bowed to their knees immediately and Callas remained standing in a stupor. Bardock snatched her wrist and pulled her down. She crumpled to the floor and bowed her head low.

The King stood and walked over to them. "You may rise."

The two Saiyans did so and Callas marveled at the energy coming from the King's boots. So close to touch. She blinked and tried to push back this amazing feeling of soaring; she had a feeling they would not understand. She needed to appear more normal. Hopefully they were assuming she was still spent from the match. She finally focused her mind and pushed herself off the ground, planting her feet firmly and looking up to meet the King's gaze, something that would not normally have been acceptable.

The earth was shifting, however. She could almost feel her place among this society, this planet, changing.

King Vegeta lifted the corner of his lip up in a cold smile and spoke softly, "You have the look of new blood on your hands. Battle fever—blood fever. How many true battles have you fought before, back on your home planet?"

Callas let her eyes drift to the Prince. He was watching her intently. It was easy to reach forward and tug that little tendril that held his emotions. He was curious; he was on the edge with sexual desire; he was pleased and proud; and most of all he was impatient. She smiled just slightly and answered, "I fought with G—Kakarrot on Chikyuu to defend the planet from those who would harm it. At Kakarrot's behest we never killed anyone." After a pause, she continued, "But I wanted to."

The shock in the room was palpable to her. Bardock's was the strongest. She opened herself up like a flower in bloom and sucked in all the tendrils so she could feed on and feel what was going on around her.

_I feel so powerful._

The King gave her a strange look, then smirked. "So you were twisted before my son got ahold of you. That's good to know." He chuckled. "The good thing here is that we have satisfied everyone. You killed your attackers, my son apparently got his punishment for you, and the people were able to see that you are a warrior and you will fight under the command of Clan Vegeta, the Royal House." He walked back and forth as he talked, eying her up and down. When he got closer, Callas lifted her chin as she always wanted to do. She felt strong with all of this energy, more confident.

Killing those that harmed her definitely helped. She smiled coldly at this thought. Brolly had been right. She felt fear no more.

King Vegeta put his gloved fingers against her neck and trailed down as he studied her. She looked at his arm then back up at him, giving him a hateful glare. He cackled and said, "You are definitely fiesty. I'm glad you managed to pull out of your depression." At her confused expression he nodded at Brolly and said, "Brolly informed me that you were moping for several days."

Callas cut her eyes to the side towards Brolly but only saw a blur out of her peripheral vision before she looked back up at the King and said, "Majesty, please remove your hand. I am your son's." She was having a hard time not stealing his energy. She knew it would get her in big trouble if she could not control it.

The King let out another cackle and stepped back, taking his hand from where it had been traveling to her waist. He turned and looked at his son who was seething at the whole situation. "You are too attached to your slave, son, but at least she is useful in more ways than just in bed." He took his seat again and cocked his head to look at Callas and Bardock. "We will be planning the best way to surprise attack Frieza and his men. You will be participating in this part of the battle. If we win, we win the war. If we lose, there will be no more Saiyans."

Bardock nodded. Callas watched the King. She felt the deep sorrow for his people and underlying hatred that she assumed was towards the Ice Lizards. It was enough to put her muscles on edge, ready for another battle.

"You will be sent out into many battles before that time to both get you accustomed to a war scene and to see if you will survive one," the King continued. "You may take her away now." He waved his hand dismissively.

Prince Vegeta stalked forward, seeming relieved to finally be done, and spoke quietly to Bardock. "Back to her room, now."

Bardock nodded and guided Callas away. Callas looked back at the Prince. She had been so close to his energy. She felt herself fading... _the energy from Kress and Eracur fading_, she mentally corrected. The sharpness, the bold, bright feeling of living was fading. The coursing power... she wanted it again. She wanted him.

A part of her thought how she could drain him completely and be able to leave this horrid planet. But a larger part of her realized that she could never leave this. She was too deep into everything here. She actually cared about the war, about some of the people, about saving them and being a type of hero. And now she felt she might truly be able to help them with this new ability.

She even cared about the Monster Prince. That frightened her the most.

/

In only a matter of hours, Prince Vegeta came to her bed. Bardock silently left as they exchanged feral growls, bites, and physical pleasure. The Monster Prince seemed completely re-enamored with Callas, as if watching her fight was an aphrodisiac. It had certainly been one for her. They went at it several times in the course of a few hours during the darkest red outside, nightfall on Vegetsei holding them close. Neither of them said much to the other, merely enjoying the carnal knowledge of each other's bodies.

Callas was much rougher than she had ever been with him physically, though the tendril of his life energy that was so clearly open from his skin touching hers, she suckled tenderly and gently. She feared that a rougher treatment of the open path might actually harm him, which he would notice. And if he noticed, she might be killed.

Vegeta's snarls and grunts of pleasure through the night were all she needed to know that despite her ever-so-light stealing of energy, he was thoroughly enjoying himself. His tail kept firmly coiled around her wrists and legs each time one or the other was moving over the top.

Finally, when the blood orange of First Sun leaked through the sky, the Prince collapsed next to her on the plush satin sheets, damp with sweat and wetness. His tail was curled possessively around her thigh, which made Callas smile.

"I am glad to have pleased you, my prince," she breathed. He snorted in response. "I am still angry with you for what you did to my sister, though." She slid her body over to lay alongside him, draping a leg and arm over his naked skin.

"I should care about this, why? You needed to be punished," he growled, putting his arms behind his head and closing his eyes with a scowl.

"I guess you don't care."

"No, I don't," he quipped. "I will admit that I was impressed by your fight yesterday. I did not think you would be so successful."

"I have been training," she said more arrogantly than she felt. The pleasure high was fading and the previous day's events were setting in slowly but surely. "And they deserved to die."

Vegeta craned his neck to look at her. "You sound so hateful when you speak of those two." He smirked. "Good. You act more like a Saiyan now. It will serve you well in battle."

"And in your bed," she remarked.

"Only my bed," he said. She knew what he meant though he did not say it. She was just a whore.

"Oh, and I had such high hopes to be the Queen of all Saiyans one day," Callas said with sarcasm, letting herself scoff darkly. Then again, maybe she did. She had no idea what she was going to do after the war. But setting her sights that high was stupid, even if she did somehow manage to become a war hero, which was laughable in and of itself.

There was no response from him and she heard his breathing deepen. He had actually fallen asleep before she did. It was not a common occurrence. She settled in against him, thinking that despite all of the horrible things that had been happening to and around her lately, she was probably the happiest she could get in this life. Closing her eyes to sleep, her last thoughts were about how helpful it would be if she really were a Saiyan.


	27. First Assignment

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 27  
**First Assignment**

3.29.2012

updated 9.30.2012

In the next few months, Callas was sent for special training. Initially she was excited about this because she got to leave the palace grounds. The main training camp for young Saiyans was on the opposite side of the planet in the least populated area with the most brutal landscape and wildlife.

She attended boot camps with young, emerging Saiyan warriors. All male, of course. She got to witness on several occasions the aggressive females that wanted to participate in the war, but it was currently forbidden, in an effort to save the population of the Saiyan race. It was actually tough—experiencing the regiment that kids were expected to live through and excel. She was given no breaks, and in fact, she thought that the battlemasters might have been extra cruel to her because she was a special case.

In the beginning of her time with the kids, she was actually picked on and bullied. Callas laughed about it at first, but eventually it became irritating.

"It's like I'm going through high school again," she muttered one day after a group of teenage boys ganged up and surprised her with their fists. "A very physical, violent high school." With a wipe at her bloody nose, she had to limp back to the sparse room she shared with others.

Some days a battlemaster caught them, other days she was certain they turned a blind eye to it. Finally she got to the point that she was constantly looking over her shoulders at all hours of the day. Her eyes would jump open at every sound in the evening and while she was not getting as deep a sleep as she might like, the attacks slowed until they came to a stop altogether. Catching them and beating them down before they could touch her put them in their place.

Callas smiled. Abstractly she could understand that strength was what was respected around here, but until she had experienced it first hand, she never fully... got it. Here with these brats (though strong brats they were), she was learning more than she ever could with Bardock. He babied her; she saw that now. She missed it.

Well, when she got back from this training camp, he would be impressed with her improvement. The Monster Prince would be too, she hoped.

By the end of her time at boot camp, the Saiyan brats were as friendly to her as anyone could expect a warrior to be. She felt more like a warrior now than ever, and friendship was a luxury that should not be expected of anyone here, especially in the current state of affairs. Soon, she would be involved in a war. Comrades-in-arms would be what she had. Loyalty to the royalty of Planet Vegeta-sei.

/

When she returned to the Royal Palace, Callas was immediately met by Bardock and Nappa, who quickly whisked her off to a tactical battle room in a wing of the palace she had never been in. She did not even have time to clean up, but she got to experiece her first war room meeting. The next week was spent preparing to go into battle. King Vegeta ordered that Callas be sent out with an elite group of Saiyans being sent to a planet under Freiza's control to eradicate everything and bring back any useful technology and weaponry. During their briefings, she found out that the general power levels of the aliens here should be easy enough for the stronger Saiyans to wipe out, which is why their overall battle group was small. Bardock would be coming as well and his request for Gokuh to attend was granted as well. The Prince would be in command of the whole operation.

Callas had managed to squeeze a visit to Bulma out of the Prince before the left.

Vegeta was redressing after their fourth or fifth go-around, Callas had lost count, and he snapped, "Absolutely not. We must ready to leave in a few hours."

"I've been gone for months, Vegeta," Callas purred. "I just want to see how she is. She's my sister."

"I know very well her relation to you. You are both annoying, and she is extremely loud. I'm glad you, at least, do not have that unfortunate trait."

Callas scowled at him and pushed a little tendril out to him, trying to work his emotions around to feel the slightest bit of leniency towards letting her visit Bulma. "If you let me visit her, five minutes max, I will not bother you for anything the whole trip there."

Vegeta turned and straightened his armor, eyeing her suspiciously. After a moment's silence he nodded ascent. "Fine."

The red-haired girl beamed and jumped off the bed lithely, striding over to give him a thank you kiss. The prince stopped her by grabbing her hair and tilting her face up. "Whatever it is that you just did to me, don't you ever do it again."

Callas's eyes widened, momentarily shocked that he even noticed. She blinked and tried to pass over it as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "I have no idea what you mean, my prince."

He frowned at her, dark eyes piercing deep inside her. "I know you have some sort of strange power, obviously, or you would not have done nearly as well in our own training camps. Did you think I was not keeping a close eye on you?"

She said nothing, merely swallowing and keeping her breathing even. She had used her empathic powers to twist and push a little here and there, especially to keep some of the more vicious bullies away some nights. It had been helpful to practice her powers against others. He had been watching her do it, too. Damn him.

He traced the line of her jaw with a gloved hand and smirked at her, his eyes glittering triumphantly. "I don't think it's mind reading, like Bardock thought. You can definitely manipulate energy, and I believe you can manipulate minds... somehow. If I didn't think you were important to this war, I would kill you myself."

Callas made a serious effort to keep her breathing and heartbeat even. All the training in boot camp was serving her well currently. "My abilities..." she began and stopped, frowning. She felt her trump card was useless now that he knew. "My abilities were suppressed by the ki-bonds for a long time."

"That is another thing that has kept you alive," he purred at her. "Knowing that you did not manipulate your way into my bed." Vegeta kissed her lips in a strangely light manner and let her go, walking to the bedroom door. "I know what it feels like to have someone messing with me. I am always in control. Remember that before you decide to do it again." As he was leaving the plush bedroom suite of Callas's, he called back that she had five minutes to see her sister and have Bardock take her to the weapons room for outfitting.

Callas took a moment to compose herself and throw on a simple stretchy, form-fitting unitard, before she called Bardock on the intercom near the main door. She told him where she was going, and he said he would meet her there shortly. Since her stint in the training camps, Bardock was not always at her side in the palace, she noticed. She wondered if Vegeta was alright with it, and supposed he would have said something and changed it by now. Besides, it was proven that she could take care of herself.

On the way to the New Lab wing, she was deep in thought. _Well, he knows about my Empathic abilities, even if he does not know exactly how they work. That could be a bad thing but it's not like he will tell the enemies of my abilities. Perhaps it will help in battle for him to know how I work. That is how Gokuh and I worked so well together during our time on Chikyuu. _Callas rounded a corner and passed a Saiyan guard. He eyed her but said nothing and continued on his way. _Also, it seems as if he has not noticed my energy stealing. Surely he knows about that though. I use it frequently. Maybe he doesn't miss the small amounts I take from him. Maybe I was too forceful with my last empathic push. It's different pushing kids than a full-grown warrior that has had plenty of discipline and training._

Callas roused herself from her thoughts when she reached Bulma's special labs and pressed the button to enter. The door hissed open and she found her sister half hidden under a large robotic-looking machine.

"The robots are almost done, Prince," she drawled angrily. "And you checking in on me every day is getting old. I'm working as fast as I can and I think getting five of these done a day is pretty damn amazing..."

"He checks on you every day?" Callas mused, feeling a weird pang of jealousy. Being gone for so long, of course life around the palace would continue and change without her. But why would the Prince check on her every day? Servants or lower class Saiyans could relay the scientist's progress. Even Bardock could do something like that. She pushed the thoughts out of her head. They really didn't matter that much. Surely after the punishment that Bulma received on Callas's behalf, the Prince would not think of doing anything else to her. Maybe her sister was causing problems, or it could even be that there was just an increased need for her genius mind. It had to be something along those lines, of course.

"Callas!" Bulma said, shocked but very happy. She rose from all the machinery around her and bounced over to give the red-head a hug.

Callas patted her sister's back before sidling out of the embrace. It felt foreign and strange to have casual contact with others. She was also still a little irritated about the news of Vegeta visiting her daily. "How are you doing?" she asked.

Bulma gave her a strong smile. "I am doing well. I missed you though. I was worried when I heard that jerk of a prince sent you to be trained to fight." Despite claiming to be well, the smile seemed a bit forced and her voice had a hollow quality to it.

"It was useful," Callas said simply. "I enjoy it."

Bulma watched her for a long moment, seeming to study all the changes in her sister. "You always were more physical than me. You are still extremely smart though. Don't forget that using your head can be just as useful as physical strength."

Callas nodded. "No one has hurt you since..." she trailed off, unsure how to continue the line of questioning.

The lavender-haired woman shook her head, a hint of pain hidden in her eyes. Anger, too, Callas noted; no fear, which was good—fear crippled. "No one has, and I have my own guards. Actually Bardock was assigned to me while you were gone."

Callas raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah. He is the... well, the strangest and kindest Saiyan I know, aside from Son-kun."

Smirking, she began to goad her sister. "Is there something else going on between you and Doc? Something a little romantic, maybe?"

Bulma blushed and shook her head. "No! Well, we kissed. But... he's been a perfect gentleman! Almost too perfect," she muttered. Then suddenly she changed tracks, confusing Callas for a moment. "Anyway, that abominable Prince comes in daily and I think he just likes to bait me into arguments. I loathe him," she said in a quieter voice.

Their conversation trailed into what Bulma was working on lately. Callas was glad to let the switch happen, not particularly pleased about both of her Saiyans visiting her sister so often. Bulma told her she was being utilized to create special training rooms that enhanced gravity and created difficult battle simulations with weapons and robots to avoid and fight. Her other experiment of enhancing individual ki energy and amplifying it was also going well, but she was still working kinks out of it. It was also hard to find time to work on it with all the gravity room orders being sent in.

"It explodes when the users energy goes too high and I can't get the thing to funnel the energy effectively..." Bulma said and started to get lost in her formulas before Callas called her back to reality.

What surprised Callas the most was the work she had been doing on a specially designed set of stables for a strange dog-creature race that her sister was apparently fond of. Bulma took her to a window and showed her the extremely large pit in the ground where the stables were. One of the dog-creatures, Dirlatranisian War Dogs they were called, was bounding about. It was absolutely hideous with it's large dangerous mouth and tiny legs pumping furiously as it ran.

"Prince Vegeta thinks they can be utilized in battles, and I know I can train them. I hate sending them to their deaths... but I'd rather survive this war, you know?" Bulma spoke in a soft voice. She was genuinely worried about all of this.

"Don't worry, sister," Callas said calmly. "We will win."

"Yes, we will," Bardock's voice traveled through the room as both females turned to look at the Saiyan walking in. "We have many secret weapons piling up." He smiled disarmingly at them. "Ready to go?"

Callas nodded and bid Bulma farewell. She demanded that they both stay safe and make it out alive. Callas couldn't help but notice the warmth in Bardock's eyes as he nodded back at Bulma when they left. There really was something going on between those two, and she wasn't sure how she should feel about it.

It couldn't last, though, right?

/

The next few hours were full and Callas had no more time to think. She was outfitted in a special, light stretchy material that was suited for battle. It could brush off the burns of ki blasts and lasted the longest in a battle than any other light-weight material. To her dismay she was also given regular armour like the other warriors. It was more bulky than she was used to, but it was fairly flexible despite it's plastic-like appearance and feel. It covered her torso only and while some models had shoulder pads, hers thankfully did not. Her stretchy suit went to her knees and her calves were naked until the loose-material boots. She was told to pull her hair back since she vehemently rejected the idea of cutting it of, so it was currently in a loose ponytail.

After the uniform team, she was taken to weaponry. Mostly it was explosives, ki-shields (impressively upgraded by Bulma), and the ki-amplifiers that were still not stable. She declined any weapons, but was given an explosive and ki-shield for good measure. Her ki-bonds which had been decorating her wrists and neck as merely jewelry since boot camp (it was the only way the Prince would allow her to go across the planet) were completely removed. It was strange to be without them, but liberating at the same time. She took a moment to rub the areas on her skin where they had once been. A small smile crossed her lips.

Finally, she was ushered into the docking bay where many ships were docked and waiting. Gokuh was already waiting with a few other Saiyans that Callas did not personally know. She could feel that they were powerful and kept her eyes down, unsure how to react around them. In boot camp she could fight the strongest for leadership or she had to essentially roll over and bear her belly to show that she accepted their leadership. Here she knew the Prince was dominant, but where would she stand? Would she just be a human warrior along for the ride? Would they treat her with respect? The best she could hope for, she thought wearily, was to not be stabbed in the back by them.

To her appreciation though, it turned out that Nappa was not going. Brolly was, which surprised her, since he was supposedly the King's special guard. There was a lot of power in him though, so she knew he would be welcomed, especially if this mission was as dangerous as she had continually been told during their tactical meetings. They were supposed to hit the docking bays first, she mentally rehearsed. There were two main ones on the planet, which was laughably small, but it was an important refueling station. They would be hitting it when several large freighters were scheduled to be on the planet, thereby destroying a large shipment of supplies that would go to aid Freiza's army. After that, they would take out the small regiment that protected the planet along with their weaponry and any technology that was not easily transportable back to Planet Vegeta-sei. Any remaining life forms were also to be terminated and the planet wiped of all life. No ships or objects should be allowed off the planet and it was to be utterly destroyed once they salvaged everything they could. It was the freighter that might cause them trouble, as they were uncertain what alien races would be on it for protection. Considering it was important supplies, they had inferred enough of a danger to include Brolly and an Elite crew rather than anything less for the rest of the weaker aliens on the planet.

When Prince Vegeta appeared, whisking his cape and tail along past the waiting warriors and onto the ship they were to take, Callas pulled herself out of her thoughts and followed obediently. The others did so as well, and they all strapped in while one of the Saiyans Callas did not know seated himself at the control panel and began to power the ship.

"We all know what we are going to do," Vegeta said, seating himself in the commander's seat. "We should be back within a couple weeks. There will be no fighting on the ship or amongst ourselves. We are to work as a team and no one will question my authority. This is a test for many of you," he eyed Callas and Gokuh especially and continued, "And if you fail, there is no use for you in this war."

Failure meant death, Callas gathered.

And the elite team was off in space, heading towards their first battle together. Callas smiled grimly, once again finding herself thinking that being a Saiyan would not be so bad.


	28. A Flower Opens Between Life and Death

[Monster Inside] - Chapter 28  
**A Flower Opens Between Life and Death**

9.2.2012

updated 10.1.2012

Landing was uneventful. The ship was navigated to a rocky area and hidden in an alcove. All warriors exited the ship after Prince Vegeta and followed him in flight through the thick atmosphere towards their first destination: the docks to their east. During flight, Callas was able to look at the natural terrain. The planet looked desolate and uninhabitable. She thought it was a miracle that they could breathe the air without any trouble, actually. Rocks and powdery dirt were mostly all she could see. Every now and then it looked like a dead shrub was trying to take its life back, but the light from this solar system's sun did not quite seem to provide enough nourishing food. It was a mountainous and jagged planet, and when they reached the docks, she could see that the building did not match this place. It was round, silvery and chrome with some darker greys and shades, and long spindely like legs that attached deep into the ground and mountan it was backed against. The mountain had a gaping hole in it and it looked large enough to house several space ships.

The freighter that was arriving landed in the docking bay, sitting down heavily, halfway in the mouth of the mountain. There were lots of strange aliens in the same types of battle uniforms scurrying here and there. Callas found it odd that the battle armour looked quite similar to the Saiyan's armour. She leaned over to Gokuh, who had been keeping close to her in flight, and said, "See a similarity in the armour?"

Gokuh blinked and studied the people further ahead of them and made a thoughtful noise. Bardock sidled closer through the air and said, "It's pretty standard battle armour throughout the Planetary Trade Organization and the best for durability in battle. We used to trade them, before we went to war with the PTO, Freiza essentially. Now we take them. Or our people can make them from materials, as long as we can get our hands on what we need."

Callas nodded, appreciating how helpful Bardock always was. A few of the Saiyans glanced back at them and they all clamped their mouths shut, speeding up and staying right with the crew. With no pomp, the Saiyans attacked the dock. The actual Saiyan warriors, including Gokuh and Prince Vegeta began attacking people in between blowing up whatever was in their way. Initially she was shocked to see Gokuh move right in and start killing other living beings, but in fact she was almost proud. He had been able to put aside whatever it was in him that kept him from hurting others so they could win. Living for months with the Saiyans, training with them, and then hearing that there was no room for failure probably had a lot to do with it.

Callas decided to take the time and look around and found a satellite on top of the mountain. She took that out with a quick ki blast and shot into the mountain opening. Bardock followed close behind her.

"You can find your own targets, you know, Doc," Callas quipped. She flew down and landed near a panel of buttons and screens of information.

He smirked and fried the face off of a dock worker that ran right into him as he landed near her. "Going off on your own in battle is the easiest way to get killed, even for a strong warrior," he answered her. Then he proceeded to purge the hangar of everyone he could find. The freighter that had just landed was in the process of powering down and with a glance at the door beginning to open he said, "We're about to have some company."

Callas was busy with the control panel, but glanced behind her to see the same sight. She frowned and went back to the machinery in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Bardock snarled, shooting forward to slam into the metal door of the ship. It dented in and stopped moving. That would hold them for a few more seconds, anyway.

"Just making sure all alarm systems are shut down and turning off the communications system for this docking bay," Callas answered calmly. "Unfortunately, it looks like this station can't access the other docking bay... or if it can, I don't know how. It's been too long. My sister is better with this sort of stuff." With that done she stepped back and looked at the machines for a moment before sending a flurry of ki blasts into it. "I think it worked. Either way, they can't call out anymore."

Bardock heard the metal behind him twist and screech, and suddenly the door opened, flying into him and slamming him down into the ground. A group of ten alien warriors poured out and immediately flew towards Callas, the first unknown target they could see. They were shouting in an unknown tongue, confusion and anger evident in their voices. Callas's eyes widened and she braced herself for impact. One of the alien warriors slammed into her, sending her flying back into the machinery she just destroyed, sparks flying. The others stopped near her and brought up cannons attached to their arms. Lights on their packs flickered and began to light in succession. Then a glowing traveled from the pack and through the tube that connected from the pack to the cannons and energy fired out of the muzzle, all trained towards where she crashed.

Callas put her hands in front of her and felt the energy speeding closer. She hoped it was similar to ki energy and opened the tendrils in her skin to suck it in. It was successful enough. Most of the energy pulled into her, though it felt wild and hot, and the rest scorched her hands and forearms, leaving angry red welts and smoke. The aliens waited for the smoke to clear for their results, and when it did, she gave them a cold smile and released the energy she had just stolen right back at them. She concentrated it in the middle of the aliens, and it exploded, sending them out in all directions. Callas did not pay enough attention to the other alien that had rammed into her, so when he advanced her again, she was caught off guard. The alien slammed his knee into her gut, doubling her over, and rammed his elbow into the back of her neck, sending her sprawling forward. Pain exploded in front of her eyes, and her neck felt like it was on fire. She quickly took mental inventory of her body and was happy to note that nothing was numb, so while the alien may have pinched or hurt some nerves, nothing would be permanent, and she still had use of her limbs.

Callas groaned and rolled over on the hangar floor to look around for the alien. He was walked towards her, speaking a language she did not understand. He had a scouter on, but obviously he did not have it configured for Chikyuuan or Saiyan. Callas rolled her neck a bit, felt a pleasant pop, and pushed the rest of her pain away for now. She sat up and launched herself at the alien, engaging in a brawl with him.

Bardock, after being momentarily stunned by the large metal door that landed on him, pushed it the freighter door off and saw Callas fighting an alien. A large scattered group of other aliens were regathering after what looked like an energy blast hit them (scorch-marks on their armor was a big giveaway). The older warrior decided to take on a group of three to his right and made quick work of them. Glancing at Callas again, he saw she had defeated one alien and was working on two others. She handled herself well, and he smirked proudly before fighting and killing the remaining aliens.

Callas finished her fight and approached Bardock who was floating towards the freighter carefully. "I don't sense any other strong ones in there," Callas said quietly.

"Same," he answered. "Probably just ship operators. In the wrong place." Bardock went inside and began purging the ship. Callas flew in after him but found she could not kill these people quite so easily as the warriors. Bardock had been right. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they were cowering in corners and attempting to run away.

"Don't let them escape," Bardock snapped at her, and Callas realized this was probably a test. She had never really killed an innocent person, or alien, like this. Even Gokuh was outside killing what were soldiers and others that would fight for their lives rather than cower. If he were to come in here, would he be able to kill these aliens?

_This is my life now_, she thought. _No room for failure. And nobody is always perfect and good. I bet they've done something horrible... Besides, I'm not Gokuh._

Callas psyched herself up and chased down the alien that ran off the ship. She snatched his tail and began to drain his life force. He fell, rolled over, eyes bulging with fear and stammering words she didn't know. Death this way would be too slow. Callas realized she didn't want to feel pity for him. She didn't want to not kill him. She needed her life to work out, because this was her chance to do something worthwhile in Saiyan society.

_No room for failure._

The red-haired girl powered up her hand with some of the energy she stole and punched through the alien's chest just as Prince Vegeta and the others flew in. She looked up and backed away from the creature as they landed. Gokuh looked at her, his expression unreadable, and though she reached out to understand what he might be feeling—suddenly she needed to know how he saw her right now—all she felt was guarded apathy, emptness. Disappointment and guilt tried to bubble up her throat, but she swallowed it back.

_No room for failure... I did what I had to... So did you, Gokuh._

Bardock came down and bowed slightly. "The freighter is secure."

Vegeta nodded, glancing around. "While we still have the element of surprise, let's go to the other docks at full speed and do the same. Destroy everything that isn't useful. You," he said, gesturing at one of the warriors and tossing him a capsule, "Fill the bin with all the useful tech you can find and get it back to our ship." And then to the rest, "Let's go."

They all flew out quickly. Callas, fresh with energy, had no trouble keeping up. Gokuh smiled grimly at her, and she returned it. This was a bit different than she expected, and while she felt as though she was handling it well on the outside, inwardly she was having a bit of trouble. She assumed Gokuh was more tortured than she was and only hoped he would make it through the whole mission.

Back on Chikyuu, Callas would get so angry at people, she wanted to hurt them, maybe even kill them. Gokuh and her conscience had kept her in line. Anytime they would get into a fight, Gokuh did his best to let people go, and Callas modeled herself after him.

_I thought I had no conscience as a kid because... well, I was a kid, right. Kids don't have much of one. It was easy for me to get angry, to fight and hurt others, especially with our group. We all were strong, training, learning discipline..._ Callas frowned in thought. _It feels like I'm reverting. The longer I stayed around Son-kun, the easier it was to accept his ways and thoughts. Easier to think about life being special and fun._

_But here,_ Callas sighed, causing Gokuh to glance at her questioningly. She ignored him and flew on, slicing through the air with a group of killers. _Here, life is earned. You live strong or die weak, and I really don't want to die. It only took me a moment of hesitation before I decided it was better to kill an innocent ship operator than fail. _

_I suppose Gokuh had to kill out there, too, otherwise they would not be so satisfied with our current outcome. I wonder how he is taking that. _

To tell the truth, Callas felt pretty okay with it all. That was what bothered her the most. Maybe this time, she would see about killing a few more aliens. Maybe it would bother her then. Turning off the outgoing distress signals would be her first priority still. It was not necessarily part of the mission, but she had seen enough movies on Chikyuu to know that alarms would be the death of a mission. If a passing ship caught the signal, they could come in and ruin their plans, and if the aliens on the ship were far stronger than anticipated, they might all die.

So when the next docking bay came into view with the freighter already landed and being unloaded, Callas did the same as before. The Saiyans spread out, killing and destroying, and Callas had an easier time disengaging alarms and communications. Bardock destroyed the satellite on top of the mountain this time, taking a cue from Callas, but leaving her alone this time for a short period. Once Callas was done fiddling with technology, she stepped back and blew it up again. Looking around the hangar, she noticed Gokuh had followed her inside this time and was making quick work of the aliens. She was fascinated by the expression on his face, a mask of detachment, something she had never seen on him before.

It was almost worrisome, but she couldn't expect him not to change in this new life.

Callas turned her attentions back to the other aliens and began to attack them. Most of them inside the hangar were workers, little fighting skill, and easy to dispose of. And yes, it was as easy as she thought—killing them. Probably easier the more she did it. She didn't bother collecting any energy from them and used her own to see how easy it would be that way.

It was very worrisome, in the back of her mind, how easy this was.

Deep in her thoughts about whether to fear for her mortal soul or not, Callas did not notice the actual warriors piling in the hangar to save the freighter and its shipment. A couple of warrior aliens attacked her, using their energy blasters to stun her and then physically slam her into the ground. Some others surrounded her with their own guns trained to her form, while the rest went after Gokuh. Callas flipped over and started to attack, but with so many attacking her at once and already having the upper hand, she was overwhelmed. The two that were fighting her hand-to-hand were actually fairly decent. They seemed stronger than some of the Saiyans she sparred with before, and after using her own energy to fight the weaker ones, she was running lower than she would have liked. Getting close to the aliens to drain energy just was not happening. They would punch and kick her back away, and the surrounding aliens would fire ki blasts from their cannons.

It was too much. She was flustered and unable to concentrate. She snatched what little energy she could from the blasts as they hit, but her speed was off as she faltered. She screeched in frustration and pain and huddled down to protect as much of her body as she could.

A large explosion sounded around Callas and she heard grunts and yells of pain. Peeking through her arms and squinting through the smoke, she watched Gokuh take out the aliens quickly and easily. The two that had been giving her trouble turned to attack him. Callas immediately stood and tried to brush off the barrage she had underwent. After a shaky step, she caught herself and launched towards the aliens' backs.

_Painful, but I refuse to let them keep me down,_ she thought angrily. The worst thing she could do was fail or even just seem weak during this assignment.

As they reached Gokuh, Callas slammed into one of the aliens and wrapped her limbs around him, grasping for contact with his skin. It was dry and textured, like leather and leaves. She shuddered inwardly but went about opening the delicate tendrils and roads from his skin to hers, draining his energy was quickly as she could. She felt herself being refreshed and the energy burns on her skin did not feel quite as bad now. The alien fought to free himself of her hold, confused as to what she was doing. It did not take long for him to stumble and fall, too little energy left to even remain standing.

Gokuh snatched the other alien into a fight and they exchange a volley of punches and blocks. The Saiyan's fists hit more often than not, and the alien was much to slow to keep the brawl up. Gokuh put more power behind his punches and a snap was heard when one hit the other warrior's face. The alien fell backwards with a cry of pain and purple blood splattered freely around him. Gokuh hestitated a moment before bringing his hand up and disintigrating the top half of the alien's body with a powerful ki blast. He turned to look at Callas as she was disintangling herself from the collapsed alien below her.

Feeling high on so much energy, Callas hopped back a little, bouncing from one foot to the other before sending her own ki blast at the husk in front of her. She shook her hands out and looked at Gokuh, then around the hangar. There was nothing else alive in here at the moment, but that was remedied by a fresh wave of warriors filing in.

They immediately began to attack and Gokuh and Callas fought side-by-side for a short while. Callas exchanged a punch with an alien and then swept her leg around, spinning her body, and knocking him to the ground. She leaned over, punched him in the chest, stunning him, and turned her attention to two more alien warriors advancing on her. They powered up their cannon guns and fired. She sucked up the energy and sent it right back at them, surprising the aliens. The alien below her grabbed her leg while she was busy and sent her toppling to the ground. He had a surprisingly heavy body for being so thin and lithe-looking, and he settled himself on top of Callas and pointed his gun at her stomach and fired.

Callas cried out in pain, unable to readjust her own energy enough to figure out how to absorb what was coming at her at such a close range. The energy burned into her skin, and she instinctively convulsed her body up in an attempt to throw him off.

Gokuh, hearing Callas's cry, expelled an aura of energy to blast his attackers back, and he flew over to her. He gave the alien on top of her a roundhouse kick to get him off and fired a ki blast for good measure, then he propelled himself forward towards the other two aliens that were advancing on her again and held them off with a flurry of melee attacks.

Callas sat up and moving her body was agony. She glanced down at her stomach and saw a great gaping bloody hole into her gut. She let herself collapse off her arms and back to the ground and groaned. The wound wasn't completely through her stomach, but she wasn't sure how she could survive a hole in her belly. Her lungs felt punctured, as her breathing began to feel wet, like drowning. She coughed and blood splattered up in her vision.

"Chi, you okay?" Gokuh called from his current fight. A frantic, worried tone crept into his voice, and his face quickly lost that look of detachment.

"Shit," she whispered. The alien that shot her appeared in her vision, a nasty smile on his face. He glanced at Gokuh, who was busy with the other warriors, and started to put the cannon gun towards her face. In a last ditch effort to not die so quickly, Callas reached over and wrapped her fingers around his bare leg, right above his boot. She noticed his skin was solid, but smooth like marble, and wondered if perhaps that was part of the reason he was so heavy—solid muscle mass, or perhaps some type of alien body mass that gave them extra weight.

Didn't matter. Focus.

Around her, the sounds began to fade away and her vision started to white out around the edges. Fear took hold of her as she felt herself slowly starting to fade away. Her mind began to fog over and what she did next was more instinctual than anything. The pathway from his energy aura opened up like a flower, and it had never looked so beautiful to Callas. She felt it more than saw it, but feeling was seeing in a way.

Or maybe she was seeing it...?

The pain in her stomach was so blindingly unreal she was not sure what exactly might be going on. She pulled at the tendrils around the pathway and directed them towards her—all that she could reach and coerce. It was a pretty quick effect with how desperately she was pulling, and the alien's life energy began to pour into her.

A strange thing began to happen though. Instead of pulling the energy into her for immediate use, she pulled it towards what she could only describe as her core and let it flow like a warm, healing energy over her body. It was comforting to feel, though it was marred by odd itches and pains here and there, but she felt her mind beginning to relax and clear up. The intense pain in her stomach was fading, and Callas could only assume she was actually dying now. She remembered hearing that people that are dying of horrible pain eventually stop feeling that pain, and it means they are about to die.

The itching began to take over the pain, rather than it just disappearing though. It was still warm, but if she focused hard enough she could feel strange things happening to her body. Like, it felt as though tendons were stretching and touching; muscles were wrapping and reconnecting; tissue was rejuvenating and hot. The suffocation was fading and though she coughed what was left of the blood out, no more seemed to be in her lungs. They felt hyper-sensitive to the oxygen now coming in, but they were fresh. Finally, she felt her organs back in order, pumping and ready to go, just like her blood. The skin over her stomach stretched and knitted and mended and...

No, there was no more intense pain.

Instead of dying, her vision snapped back to clarity and her hearing came back with force. She heard Gokuh calling to her along with his attack yells as he fired ki blasts and delivered crunching blows to the warriors surrounding him. Callas felt physically fine as she quickly took a mental inventory of her body. Then she sat up completely, looking around in bewilderment. A glance at her stomach showed cracked body armour with a gaping hole and a singed bodysuit, sticky and wet with blood. But no wound. She looked over at her hand still clasping the leg of the alien. He lay on the floor with the same wound she had had seconds ago, an open hole in his belly. She could see the odd assortment of alien guts still trying to pump and work their way back to life before finally giving up. Blood trickled out and around his body.

Callas let go of the alien, his green skin paling in death, and looked at her hands.

They were joined shortly by the rest of the group. There had been a few more wounds on the others this time around. Apparently stronger warriors were with this freighter ship, and when the Saiyans boarded it, they found out why. There was a large shipment of materials used to create power plasma weapons and energy barriers generally used for ships and space stations.

Prince Vegeta smirked as one of the warriors said, "Well, glad Freiza isn't getting this."

"Pack it up," the Monster Prince barked, "Let's get this planet picked dry and go home."

Bardock found Callas sitting on the ground and looked from her to the dead alien by her. "What happened?"

She looked up at him, taking his offered hand and standing. Her bewilderment must have showed as she answered, "I think I healed myself... and... and gave him my wound."

/

Callas and Gokuh worked alongside the others, taking what tech looked useful and unharmed and putting them in large containers and then recapsulizing them. Gokuh told Callas that he had been upset with Bulma for giving the capsule technology to the Saiyans initially, "But I'm glad we have it for this. I wouldn't want to have to haul this all by hand back to our ship."

"Yeah," Callas agreed as Bardock and Brolly made their way over to them. She glanced at them inquisitively and went back to work.

Bardock leaned in and helped her set the inside of a computer into their container. "You guys did well. The guys were taking bets to see if you would be able to overcome your weak human upbringing and actually kill the enemy."

"What?" Callas snorted. "As if I was going to have trouble with that," she said referring to her fight on Vegetasei. "I've killed before."

Brolly quietly responded, "They were betting against Kakarrot."

"Oh," Callas stopped and looked at Gokuh. He halted momentarily though went back to moving the weapons into the container quickly enough. He did not look up at any of them, and Callas reached out with her mind to touch his. His emotions were in turmoil, dark and full of anguish. She recoiled visibly, blinked, and tried to recover before the other Saiyans noticed. Bardock looked at her long enough for her to know he had noticed it, and she figured Brolly probably did too. He never seemed to miss anything.

The four of them worked silently around their area until they were done. It was late according to their clocks, though the semi-darkness of the planet never seemed to change much, when Prince Vegeta told everyone to gather their capsuled containers and destroy everything else. He was ready to get off this rock. Truth be told, it looked like everyone else was too. The battle was over, and the Saiyans were ready to either be back in a fight or back home where food and women were. Callas felt she could be anywhere really, and it didn't much matter to her. She apparently had no problems killing other life forms, and it was almost empowering in a way. She could kill to protect herself, so she could travel anywhere.

Callas's thoughts were interrupted by their arrival at the ship and what was waiting for them there. There was another group of aliens waiting in formation with a large, pink and spiky alien at the front of them, his chubby arms crossed over his girth. Their own group landed, the Saiyans growling threateningly, some of them cursing.

Prince Vegeta stepped forward with a bored expression, though his muscles were taut and ready to snap forward at a moment's notice. "I recognize you and your fat pink ass. You must be Dodoria."

The pink alien scowled before laughing a response, "At least you know me. It means I've done well making a name for myself."

"You still work underneath a disgusting lizard," one of the Saiyans spat back.

"And I'm alive because of it," Dodoria replied. "A priviledge I won't be granting to any of you filthy monkeys."


End file.
